Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina reached another major final by beating two-time winner Victoria Azarenka in the Australian Open semi-final.
Rybakina, 23, won 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 to end Azarenka’s hopes of winning the title 10 years after her last triumph.
The Kazakh regained her composure in a nervous end to the first set before confidently dominating the second.
She will face either fifth-seeded Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka or non-seeded Magda Linette of Poland in Saturday’s final.
The duo will follow Rybakina and Azarenka onto the pitch in Thursday’s second semi-final at Melbourne Park.
“I’m super happy to be in the final and to play here again,” said 22nd-seeded Rybakina, who will be playing in her second major final.
“It was different conditions, I couldn’t play aggressive tennis and I couldn’t get my shots so much but I was happy to win.
“I have a lot of experience at Wimbledon and I want to come to the court [for the final] and enjoy the moment.”
More soon.
