BRISBANE, Australia — Aryna Sabalenka turned the tide in an lopsided rematch between the Australian Open finalists with a straight-sets victory over Madison Keys.
Top-ranked Sabalenka broke serve in five consecutive games on Friday and won 6-3, 6-3 in 1.5 hours to advance to the semifinals of the Brisbane International, an important warm-up match for the Australian Open that starts on January 18.
“Very happy to get through this difficult match,” Sabalenka said. “To be honest, I didn’t really go back to last year’s Australian Open.
“I know I lost to her in Australia, and of course, going out and winning is a big motivation. But I always look at the (next) game as a new game against a new player. That’s my approach.”
The defending Brisbane champion will next face 11th seed Karolina Muchova, who beat Elena Rybakina 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 to end the third seed’s run of 13 consecutive matches.
Muchova is better off in her career head-to-head matchup with 2022 Wimbledon champion Rybakina, who beat Sabalenka to win the WTA Year-End Finals in November. Muchova also has a record of 3 wins and 1 loss against No. 1 Sabalenka.
“Whether I’m on the winning side or on the losing side, I don’t care,” Sabalenka said, adding that her focus is on controlling the emotions that sometimes derailed her in her youth.
“In the past, I might lose a game because I would be so frustrated. Now I just want to keep going, ‘Okay, whatever,'” she said. “That’s my mindset right now and I feel like it’s working out well for me.”
On a warm subtropical afternoon at Pat Rafter Arena, Sabalenka and Keys each had early break opportunities but failed to convert.
Sabalenka broke first in the seventh game to take a 4-3 lead and continued her winning streak, winning six of the next seven games. A key break opened the second set, the only interruption in the sequence.
The 30-year-old American faced intense pressure on her second serve, with Sabalenka pounced on short or low speed situations and ended the match with eight double faults, accounting for just a third of her second-serve points.
Keys managed to save two match points in the eighth game of the second set, but that did little to slow down Sabalenka, who was out on serve.
Since losing at Melbourne Park almost 12 months ago, Sabalenka has beaten Keys in two straight sets, the other a 6-0, 6-1 win at Indian Wells. She also reached the French Open final, won the U.S. Open and finished the season as runner-up at the WTA Finals.
Earlier at the Brisbane Championships, she described the season schedule as “crazy” and said she would risk being fined by skipping events to avoid injury or burnout, but still wanted to play as many matches as possible before the first major of the season.
“I just want to get in some games, get some wins,” she said, “and get back into a rhythm.”
