Fifth-seeded Elena Rybakina took advantage of an error-filled effort by second-seeded Iga Swiatek and rolled to a 7-5, 6-1 win in the Australian Open quarterfinals on Wednesday in Melbourne.
Swiatek, a 24-year-old Polish player who has six Grand Slam championships, committed 25 unforced errors while hitting just 10 winners. Rybakina, a 26-year-old Kazakhstani player, had a steadier ground game with 25 winners and 19 unforced errors.
“I’m really pleased with the win,” Rybakina said in her on-court interview. “We know each other pretty well, and I was just trying to stay aggressive. In the first set, the first serve wasn’t working for both of us, so we were trying to step in on the second serve and put pressure on each other. In the second set, I just started to play more free, serve better, and I’m really happy with the win.”
Rybakina advanced to face the winner of the later Wednesday quarterfinal match, an all-U.S. affair featuring fourth-seeded Amanda Anisimova and sixth-seeded Jessica Pegula.
Rybakina is through to a major semifinal for the first time since she reached the Wimbledon semifinals in 2024. She has made two career Grand Slam finals, prevailing at Wimbledon in 2022 and losing the Australian Open title match in 2023.
After Swiatek and Rybakina exchanged service breaks in the opening two games, Rybakina saved three break points at 1-1, then broke serve in the 12th game to take the set.
Rybakina won the first three games of the second set and cruised to the finish, never facing a break point in the set.
–Field Level Media
