World number one continues her march for a third Australian Open title with a 6-3, 6-0 win over American teen sensation Jovic.
Aryna Sabalenka has handed 18-year-old American Iva Jovic a comprehensive 6-3, 6-0 defeat in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open to remain on course for her third title at Melbourne Park.
The world number one, champion in 2023 and 2024 and runner-up last year, made quick work of the teen tennis sensation at a sweltering Melbourne Park on Tuesday.
Sabalenka will now meet either Coco Gauff or Elina Svitolina for a place in Saturday’s title match.
“These teenagers have been testing me in the last couple of rounds,” said Sabalenka, who defeated 19-year-old Canadian Victoria Mboko in the previous round.
“Don’t look at the score, it wasn’t easy at all. She played incredible tennis, pushed me to one step better level. It was a tough battle.”
Sabalenka made a blistering start, racing into a 3-0 lead in the opener, and Jovic was made to work by the Belarusian to hold her serve in the fourth game to gain a foothold in the set.
The teenager, appearing in her first Grand Slam quarterfinal, used her speed around the court to frustrate her more experienced opponent, although Sabalenka eventually closed out the first set in less than an hour.
The 27-year-old was even more dominant in the second set, firing a cross-court winner beyond Jovic to break serve in the opening game.
That put the four-time Grand Slam champion firmly in command, and she would go on to convert another pair of break points to move ominously into the last four.
Sabalenka said she would not stop until she has got the trophy in the bag in Melbourne.
“I think [for] every player, when they get to the tournament, it’s trophy or nothing,” she said. “The mentality is the same, and it’s always in the back of your mind that obviously you want to win it.”
“But I’m trying to shift my focus on the right things and taking it step by step and just trying my best in each match, each point, each game, each set.”
Sabalenka’s match was played under an open roof on Rod Laver Arena in 38C (100F) heat, but it was not a worry for the world number one.
On a 10-match win streak after victory at the lead-up Brisbane International, she called her second-set performance “amazing”.
“I knew that I have to step in and show the level and the class,” she said.
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