MELBOURNE: Fifth seed Aryna Sabalenka outmuscled Donna Vekic 6-3 6-2 in a ferocious battle of big hitters on Wednesday to reach the semi-finals of the Australian Open for the first time.

The 24-year-old, the only top-10 seed left in the draw, took her chances in a physical one-hour first set littered with break points before running away with the second.

Vekic had held a 5-1 career record against Sabalenka but was unable to match the level of the new, improved version of the Belarusian with 13 double faults not helping the Croatian’s cause.

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Sabalenka completed the semi-final line-up after 109 minutes on Rod laver Arena and will play Polish surprise package Magda Linette on Thursday for a place in her first Grand Slam final.