01/27/26 08:46:00
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01/27 20:42 CST Elena Rybakina defeats Iga ?wi?tek to reach the Australian Open
semifinals
Elena Rybakina defeats Iga ?wi?tek to reach the Australian Open semifinals
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) --- Elena Rybakina defeated Iga ?wi?tek 7-5, 6-1 on
Wednesday to reach the semifinals of the Australian Open and prevent the Polish
player from completing a career Grand Slam of singles titles.
The win gave Rybakina a shot at her second Grand Slam title after winning
Wimbledon in 2022.
?wi?tek is a four-time French Open champion and has won the U.S. Open and
Wimbledon. She was trying to become the 11th woman to complete a career Grand
Slam.
The first set took an hour and Rybakina broke ?wi?tek in the final game. The
second was almost the opposite.
Rybakina, who was born in Russia but represents Kazakhstan, broke her Polish
opponent twice to start the set and moved to a 3-0 lead. She served two aces to
go ahead 4-1, broke in the sixth game and finished the match with an ace.
In the last women's quarterfinal, two Americans squared off with Jessica Pegula
facing Amanda Anisimova. Pegula is looking for her first Grand Slam title after
losing the U.S. Open final in 2024.
Anisimova is also looking for her first Grand Slam and was the losing finalist
last season at both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.
The winner of the Pegula-Anisimova match will play Rybakina in a semifinal on
Thursday. In the other semifinal Thursday, top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka will play
Elina Svitolina.
The final two men's quarterfinals are also on tap for Wednesday with Lorenzo
Musetti playing 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic and Ben Shelton up
against two-time defending Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner.
The men's semifinals are set for Friday.
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More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
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