Aryna Sabalenka overcame pre-match injury doubts in order to reach the Rome semi-finals with a 6-2 6-4 win over Jelena Ostapenko.
The world number two entered the match with injury doubts having grinded past Elina Svitolina a couple of days ago.
However Sabalenka produced a dominant performance to reach her second consecutive semi-final having lost a thrilling final in Madrid last week.
Speaking after the match Sabalenka revealed that she underwent treatment for most of the day before the contest with Ostapenko, “I was testing my body on the warmup and I felt, `OK, I’m probably going to go on the court and play,’” Sabalenka told the WTA website.
“And I’m super happy I was able to play without pain today. Hopefully, with every day I will feel better and better. I would definitely say that was the best performance of the tournament.”
Now Sabalenka aims to win her first title in Rome as she will play her second ever semi-final at the Foro Italico against either Danielle Collins or Victoria Azarenka.
It’s a tournament that Sabalenka thrives on as she told reporters earlier on in the week, “Yeah, I’m super happy to be back in Rome, one of my favorite tournaments,” Sabalenka explained.
“Madrid was tough. Still happy with those couple of weeks and looking forward for here.”
Sabalenka has a combined 9-1 winning record against her potential opponents for the semi-final.
