Aryna Sabalenka overcame a tricky opening set to defeat Magda Linette 7-6(1) 6-2 to reach her first Grand Slam singles final.
Sabalenka committed a handful of errors in the opening set but was more consistent in the second set.
Linette has a lot to be proud of having reached her first Grand Slam semi-final but couldn’t match Sabalenka’s power throughout the match.
The fifth seed will compete for her first Grand Slam singles title against Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina on Saturday.
It was Linette who made the fast start as she waited for the errors from the erratic Belarusian.
After conceding an early 2-0 deficit, Sabalenka found her range and came roaring back with some great angles to move the pole off the court as she levelled the opening set at 2-2.
However the Pole continued to be aggressive and take the match to Sabalenka, playing a perfect counter-attacking match with some incredible backhand down-the-line winners.
Sabalenka continued to serve well but when it came to the pressure points on return, handed points to Linette with some clumsy unforced errors.
In total there were 15 unforced errors as Linette secured a late service hold to force an opening set tiebreak.
Sabalenka recomposed herself as she played a stunning tiebreak with her backhand doing most of the damage.
The Belarusian sealed the tiebreak 7-1 to take the opening set with the second set seeing her go from strength to strength.
Sabalenka continued her sustained pressure in the second set as she broke twice for a 4-1 lead.
There was a resilient fightback from Linette as she created three break points in the next game and after failing to break, saved three match points to force Sabalenka to close out the match.
However Sabalenka obliged with sealing the win and reaching her first Grand Slam singles final.
After the match Sabalenka admitted she played great tennis once she found her rhythm, “I’m super happy that I was able to get this win, she’s an unbelievable player, she played really great tennis,” Sabalenka was quoted by the BBC as saying in her on-court interview.
“I didn’t start really well and then in the tie-break I found my rhythm, started trusting myself, starting going for the shots. It was great tennis from me on the tie-break.
“I actually felt like I hit really slow balls today but I’ve got good genetics I guess.”
Sabalenka will now play Elena Rybakina in Saturday’s showdown with the Belarusian leading the current head-to-head 3-0.
