Aryna Sabalenka fought off a teenage challenger, but found another on the way to the Australian Open semi-finals.
World No. 1 Sabalenka looked headed for a 6-1, 4-1 victory over 19-year-old Victoria Mboko, but the Canadian showed just how highly regarded she is.
Mboko saved three match points at 5-4, but Sabalenka rallied and won her 20th straight Grand Slam tiebreak in dominant fashion, winning 6-1, 7-6 (7-1).
Sabalenka was very impressed with Mboko, who is currently in the top 10. “She’s a great player. It was quite a fight,” he said.
“I’m very happy to finish this match in straight sets. The second set was a little tricky, but I’m happy with my level of play. I’m happy to get the win.”
Sabalenka’s next opponent will be Iva Jovic, an even younger American who just turned 18 last month.
The teenager followed up her first top-10 victory over Jasmine Paolini with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Yulia Putintseva in just 53 minutes.
Jovic named Sabalenka as the player he most wanted to play against at the end of last season, and now that wish has come true, the teenager said:
“Obviously she’s number one for a reason and she had great success in this tournament, but that’s what I want.
“Like I said last year, I hope I get to play with her this year because you guys definitely want to play your best and see how it goes. So I’m really excited.”
Sabalenka continues her incredible run at the Grand Slams, with the top seed seeking her third title in four years and reaching at least the quarter-finals of every major she has played since the 2022 French Open.
Story on the tape: Sabalenka vs Mboko
Djokovic gives Jovic tips to the top
Jovic has already won 11 games this season, the most of any other female player, and is the youngest player to reach the quarter-finals without dropping a set at Melbourne Park since Venus Williams in 1998.
She has been tipped to be a future world number one by her admirer Novak Djokovic, who shares her Serbian heritage and has given her advice on matches over the past two weeks.
“I actually spoke to Novak a little bit yesterday, and it was just unbelievable,” Jovic said at a press conference ahead of his third-round match against Paolini. “He gave me some really good tips about my game and things I could incorporate into this game I just played.”
This connection was boosted by the fact that her father is Serbian and Djokovic is a national symbol of his native Serbia.
Jovic regularly visits Belgrade and the southern town of Leskovac, where he has family.
Heritage also explains why Monica Seles and Djokovic were major inspirations for Jovic as he grew up in the United States and pursued a career in tennis.
Is Gauff a title contender?
Coco Gauff advances to Australian Open quarterfinals for third consecutive year
American Coco Gauff advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 victory over third-seeded Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic.
The result bodes well for the American, who has won every tournament she has beaten Muchova in, including the 2023 US Open.
“I don’t think I panicked today. I felt like the second set could easily go my way,” Gauff said. “So I knew I had to take advantage of that opportunity in the third set, and I did that.”
What started as a demolition job quickly turned into a convincing see-saw battle at Melbourne Park, with Gauff taking a commanding 5-0 lead after just 20 minutes.
Muchova, who arrived in the top 10 in Brisbane with two wins, didn’t play until the sixth game, by which point she was already slipping in the first set, which Gauff closed out with clinical efficiency.
But things changed in the second set, as Gauff struggled with her serve and committed a double fault, allowing Muchova to break twice for a 4-1 lead.
When the chance to serve for a set presented itself, Muchova didn’t waste it, serving to take the set from Gauff for the first time in five matches.
In the second set, Gauff, who kept her eyes on the player’s box, came out swinging at a decisive opportunity, increasing her lead to 4-1 as Muchova made more mistakes.
A thrilling seventh game saw both players scramble in long rallies, momentum shifting back and forth until Gauff screamed in victory with a backhand winner.
Muchova saved three match points as Gauff secured her place in the last eight.
“She plays with a lot of versatility,” Gauff said. “You never know what you’re going to do.
“In that last game, I trusted my second serve. I feel like this is a stepping stone in the right direction to be able to hit as many second serves as I have in the court, especially in the two games where I had long holds.”
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