Dominant Sabalenka brushes aside teenager Jovic to reach semis

MELBOURNE: Aryna Sabalenka handed 18-year-old American Iva Jovic a comprehensive 6-3 6-0 defeat in the quarter-finals at a sweltering Melbourne Park on Tuesday to remain on course for a third Australian Open title in four years.

The world number one, champion in 2023 and 2024 and runner-up last year, will 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 Canadian 19-year-old Victoria Mboko in the previous round.

“Don’t look at 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 quarter-final, used her speed around the court to frustrate her more experienced opponent, although Sabalenka eventually closed out the first set in just under an hour.

Sabalenka was even more dominant in the second set, the 27-year-old firing a cross-court winner beyond Jovic to break serve in the opening game.

That put the four-times 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.