The Russian-born Kazakh regarded sharp from the beginning and solely a 25-minute delay to shut the stadium roof in opposition to a passing bathe prevented her from wrapping up the opening set inside a half-an-hour of arriving on courtroom.
Former French Open champion Ostapenko regarded unable to deal with Rybakina’s tempo and energy within the opening stanza however ramped up her personal fierce groundstrokes to interrupt for a 2-0 lead firstly of the second.
Finished in two ✅✅Elena couldn’t be Ryba-keener to be into the #AO2023 semifinals ✊#AusOpen https://t.co/BYpHgV7Vha
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) 1674531517000
Rybakina, who ousted high seed Iga Swiatek within the fourth spherical, broke straight again, nevertheless, and saved 4 break factors with some good tennis within the subsequent sport to consolidate.
The 23-year-old rode the momentum to interrupt her Latvian opponent once more for a 3-2 lead after which it was solely a matter of taking care of her spectacular serve.
There have been some jitters as Rybakina served for a spot in her second Grand Slam semi-final however she sealed the deal on her third match level together with her eleventh ace of the competition.
“I am tremendous joyful to be within the semi-finals for the primary time,” mentioned Rybakina. “After all, I used to be nervous, significantly within the final sport, however I am joyful I managed my feelings. I performed very well as we speak.”
Ostapenko was clearly second greatest however would possibly take solace at her greatest Grand Slam displaying since she reached the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2018, a 12 months after she received the Roland Garros title.
Rybakina, seeded twenty second solely as a result of rating factors weren’t awarded eventually 12 months’s Wimbledon, will subsequent play the winner of Tuesday night’s quarter-final between third seed Jessica Pegula and twice Melbourne Park champion Victoria Azarenka.
“For certain, I will watch it,” she mentioned. “However on the identical time, I must neglect about tennis only for a couple of hours, to relaxation the thoughts, then put together for one more powerful match.”
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