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Sabalenka crushes Svitolina in politically charged Australian Open semi / Photo: WILLIAM WEST - AFP
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Sabalenka crushes Svitolina in politically charged Australian Open semi
Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka powered into her fourth Australian Open final in a row with a dominant win over Ukraine's Elina Svitolina on Thursday in a politically charged encounter.
There was no handshake afterwards as top-ranked Sabalenka triumphed 6-2, 6-3 and faces either Elena Rybakina or Jessica Pegula for her third Melbourne title.
It denied the 12th-seeded Svitolina a piece of history, having been on the brink of becoming the first woman from Ukraine to reach a Grand Slam singles final in the Open era.
Like other players from Ukraine, Svitolina does not shake hands with opponents from Russia or Moscow's ally Belarus because of the war.
An announcement was made before the semi-final at Rod Laver Arena and a statement flashed up on a big screen saying there would be no handshake, asking fans to "respect" that.
The two players also noticeably kept apart for the pre-match formalities and photos.
Sabalenka was close to tears afterwards as she reflected on the "dream" life she leads.
She had warm words for Svitolina, saying: "I'm super happy with the win, she's a really tough opponent, she was playing really incredible tennis throughout the whole week.
"But the job is not done yet."
Both were cheered on to court, but the reception was slightly louder for the four-time major champion from Belarus.
Each came into the encounter in red-hot form, yet to drop a set in Melbourne and on 10-match winning runs, Sabalenka having won in Brisbane in the lead-up and Svitolina triumphing in Auckland.
There was controversy at the start of the fourth game.
With the match on serve, Sabalenka was hit with a hindrance call for grunting, triggering a long video review and boos.
A clearly irritated Sabalenka lost the point but recovered her poise to break for 3-1, then held for 4-1.
Sabalenka was stunned in the final 12 months ago by Madison Keys and has said that retaking her Melbourne crown was her number one priority, calling it "trophy or nothing".
The hard-hitting 27-year-old was in determined mood, breaking again on the way to sealing the set in 41 dominant minutes.
The 31-year-old Svitolina struck back to start the second set, breaking the Sabalenka serve for a 2-0 lead.
A pumped-up Sabalenka roared back and reeled off five games in a row for 5-2 to stand on the cusp of another final.
Rybakina, the Moscow-born fifth seed from Kazakhstan, and sixth-seeded American Jessica Pegula meet later Thursday.
P.Graham--SMC
