Elena Rivakina (23, Kazakhstan, world number 25) defeated Victoria Azarenka (33, Belarus, world number 24) to advance to her second Grand Slam singles final.
Rivakina defeated Azarenka 2-0 (7-6<7-4> 6-3) in the women’s singles semifinal of the 2023 Australian Open Tennis Tournament held at Melbourne Park Road Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia on the 26th.
Rivakina won her first Grand Slam title, reaching the top of Wimbledon last year. Born in Russia, he became a naturalized citizen of Kazakhstan in 2018 with favorable conditions. At Wimbledon last year, he became the first Kazakh player to reach the top of a Grand Slam event, and also secured a ticket to the final at the Australian Open this year.
After winning Wimbledon, Livakina finished runner-up at the Slovenian Open on the WTA Tour in September last year. However, at the US Open, she was knocked out in the first round and did not perform very well.
At the Australian Open, Riva Kina announced the revival of her ‘Wimbledon Queen’ by defeating her strong players one after another. In the round of 16, he defeated Iga Sibiong Tech (21, Poland), the world’s No. 1, 2-0 (6-4 6-4). In the quarterfinals, she defeated 2017 French Open winner Yelena Ostapenko (25, Latvia, world number 17) 2-0 (6-2 6-4).
Rivakina overpowered her opponent with her strong serve of 189km/h at her top speed. After meeting Azarenka, who was excellent at returning and defending, he succeeded in advancing to the finals by showing unwavering concentration.
Azarenka won the Australian Open twice (2012, 2013). She reached the semifinals this year, and she tried to return to the top for the first time in 10 years, but she failed to advance to the finals.
Rivakina has a record of 2 wins and no losses against Azarenka.
Azarenka succeeded in breaking first in the first set 2-2. However, Rivakina immediately responded with a break and turned the tide of the game 4-3 by protecting the sub game that followed. In addition to serving and attacking, Rivakina made the second break without being pushed by Azarenka in the ground stroke fight.
Azarenka, trailing 3-5, went in pursuit. An exquisite backhand down the line led to a goal and Azarenka took the lead and tied the score 5-5. With Azarenka’s pursuit, Rivakina’s first serve success rate dropped to 45%.
The match went to a 6-6 tiebreak, and Rivakina took a 3-2 lead. In this situation, Azarenka committed a fatal double fault. Rivakina, who did not miss this opportunity, scored consecutively and won the first set.
In the second set 1-1, Rivakina took two games and led 3-1. Azarenka pursued 2-3, but failed to turn the tide. In the second set, Livakina’s first serve success rate increased and her return became more solid. Rivakina, who broke the seventh game and won 5-2, also took the second set and confirmed her advance to the final. 메이저사이트
Rivakina recorded 76% of points on 9 serve aces and a successful first serve.
Rivakina will face off against the winner of the semi-final match between Arina Savalenka (24, Belarus, world No. 5) and Magda Linenette (30, Poland, world No. 45) for the championship.