Sabalenka sweeps aside teen sensation Jovic to enter Australian Open semis | Tennis News

World number one continues her march for a third Australian Open title with a 6-3, 6-0 win over American teen sensation Jovic.

Aryna Sabalenka has handed 18-year-old ‍American Iva ‍Jovic a comprehensive 6-3, 6-0 defeat in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open to remain on course for her third title at Melbourne Park.

The world number one, champion in 2023 ​and 2024 and runner-up last year, made quick work of the teen tennis sensation at a sweltering Melbourne Park on Tuesday.

Sabalenka will now meet ‍either Coco Gauff or Elina Svitolina for a place in Saturday’s title match.

“These teenagers have been testing me in the last couple of ‍rounds,” said ⁠Sabalenka, who defeated 19-year-old Canadian Victoria Mboko in the previous round.

“Don’t look at the score, it wasn’t easy at all. She played incredible tennis, pushed me to one step better level. It was a tough battle.”

Sabalenka made a blistering start, racing into a 3-0 lead ​in the opener, and Jovic was ‌made to work by the Belarusian to hold her serve in the fourth game to gain a foothold in the set.

The teenager, appearing in her ‌first Grand Slam quarterfinal, used her speed around the court to frustrate her more ‌experienced opponent, although Sabalenka eventually closed ⁠out the first set in less than an hour.

The 27-year-old was even more dominant in the second set, firing a cross-court winner beyond ‌Jovic to break serve in the opening game.

That put the four-time Grand Slam champion firmly in command, and she would ‍go on to convert another pair of break points to move ominously into the last four.

Sabalenka said she would not stop until she has got the trophy in the bag in Melbourne.

“I think [for] every player, when they get to the tournament, it’s trophy or nothing,” she said. “The mentality is the same, and it’s always in the back of your mind that obviously you want to win it.”

“But I’m trying to shift my focus on the right things and taking it step by step and just trying my best in each match, each point, each game, each set.”

Sabalenka’s match was played under an open roof on Rod Laver Arena in 38C (100F) heat, but it was not a worry for the world number one.

On a 10-match win streak after victory at the lead-up Brisbane International, she called her second-set performance “amazing”.

“I knew that I have to step in and show the level and the class,” she said.

“I think it really helped me kind of just go for my shots and help me to trust my game.”

Defeat brought an end to a breakthrough tournament for Jovic, the youngest player in the women’s top 100 and seeded 29.

She stunned the seventh seed and two-time Grand Slam finalist Jasmine Paolini and blitzed past experienced Yulia Putintseva for the loss of just one game to announce herself to the world.

But Sabalenka was a bridge too far.

“I think Aryna played very well. I could have done some things differently, but that’s tennis,” she said after the loss.

“I think it’s amazing what she’s done for herself in her career.

“It’s very inspiring,” she added of the four-time Grand Slam winner.

“I think the way she’s been able to use all the negative things – I know her story quite well.

“All the negative things that have happened to her on court and in her personal life as well, and turned them into motivation and fuel to be better, is amazing.

“I hope to get more chances to play against her, and she was very nice at the end of the match as well.”