Rybakina to face Pegula in Australian Open semis after Swiatek upset

Fifth seed Elena Rybakina and American Jessica Pegula booked their places in the Australian Open semi-finals on Wednesday with contrasting victories at Melbourne Park.

Rybakina produced a dominant second-set display to defeat six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek 7-5 6-1 on Rod Laver Arena, ending the world number two’s bid for a career Grand Slam. Looking to lift the trophy for the first time, the 28-year-old will face Pegula for a place in Saturday’s final.

The Kazakh fired 11 aces and 26 winners and won eight of the last nine games to underline her authority after a tightly contested opening set that lasted almost an hour.

“Really pleased with the win,” Rybakina said. “We know each other pretty well and I was just trying to stay aggressive. In the second set I played more free, served better and I’m really happy with the win.”

Swiatek made a fast start by breaking in the opening game but failed to consolidate and surrendered the set when she fired into the net in the final game. Rybakina capitalised on her opponent’s growing frustration in the second set, breaking early and again late before serving out the match comfortably.

Swiatek admitted her serve let her down. “I didn’t serve as well as in Cincinnati against Elena,” she said. “There’s some stuff I can change to play better and I’ll try to do that.”

Earlier, sixth seed Pegula reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open for the first time in her career with a 6-3 7-6(1) win over fellow American and fourth seed Amanda Anisimova.

Pegula, who had exited at the quarter-final stage in each of the past three years, raced into a 4-1 lead as Anisimova struggled early, breaking twice to take the first set in 30 minutes.

Anisimova recovered to apply pressure in the second set and briefly led 5-3, but a costly double fault allowed Pegula back into the contest. The pair traded breaks before Pegula held her nerve in the tiebreak to seal victory.

“It’s awesome,” Pegula said. “I’ve been waiting for the time when I could break through here. I like the conditions and I feel like I play good tennis here.”

Pegula will now take on Rybakina later this week for a place in the final.