Aryna Sabalenka lost to Karolina Muchova in a heartbreaking Roland-Garros semifinal in 2023, then lost another two three-setters to the Czech at Cincinnati in 2023 and Beijing in 2024.
On Saturday in Brisbane, Sabalenka took some revenge.
The four-time major champion scored a 6-3, 6-4 win over the No.11 seed in one hour and 29 minutes to reach her third consecutive Brisbane final and stretch her personal winning streak at the event to nine and set a final with Marta Kostyuk.
In Saturday’s second semifinal, Kostyuk notched her third consecutive Top-10 win with a 6-0, 6-0 takedown of fourth-seeded Jessica Pegula.
Sabalenka clocked 31 winners and 18 unforced errors, while Muchova hit 18 winners and 15 unforced. The Belarusian saved all four break points she faced.
Muchova tried to make it tricky for Sabalenka, and succeeded at times. She had a pair of break points to break for 5-3 in the second set but couldn’t break through, then was broken in the next game.
The Czech ended up dropping the final three games.
“There was a lot of close misses at the end of the second set, but super happy to close this match in straight sets,” said the world No.1. “She’s a great opponent. I knew that if I would give her that opportunity in that last game, she would take it, and then it would be a bit trickier for me to play.”
Still, Sabalenka had nothing but praise for the Czech who is known worldwide for her effortless athleticism and free-flowing creativity.
“She’s incredible,” Sabalenka said of Muchova. “There were some points when she overplayed and played incredibly, so I had to just, yeah, applause for that.
“I struggled against her a couple of times. I’m happy that today I was focused from the beginning and I was able to show such a great tennis and put her under so much pressure and got the win in straight sets. That’s just super great.”
Sabalenka will face either Jessica Pegula or Marta Kostyuk in Sunday’s final.
She has won all eight sets she has played and dropped just 20 games in four matches.
“I’m playing better and better,” she opined. “That’s really important tournament heading to Melbourne, to build that level, and to play some great matches against great opponents. So I’m super happy with the performance so far and cannot wait to play my final match here.”
