By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
@AustralianOpen.
No.5 seed Elena Rybakina reached her third career Grand Slam final with a straight-sets defeat of Jessica Pegula in the Australian Open semifinals at Rod Laver Arena.
Rybakina missed three match points on Pegula’s serve and then was broken twice while serving for the match.
In the tiebreaker, Pegula had two set points but wasn’t able to convert, and Rybakina finally clinched the win 29 minutes after her first match point.
“It was such a battle. It was an epic second set. I’m really glad I managed to win it,” she said.
“I’m really proud that no matter the situation, I was leading, and then, of course, it was very tight, I still stayed there. I was fighting for each point and just happy.
“Overall, it’s a lot of positives to take.”
Moscow-born Rybakina, who defeated second seed Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals, is trying to get back on the Grand Slam title board for the first time in three-and-a-half years after winning Wimbledon in 2022.
She has been in sizzling recent form, beating Sabalenka to win the WTA Finals in Riyadh in November and winning 19 of her last 20 matches.