Aryna Sabalenka overcame Melbourne sizzling heat to reach Australian Open semifinals.
According to Associated Press, Sabalenka beat 18-year-old Iva Jovic 6-3, 6-0 to reach the semifinals of the Australian Open on Tuesday before searing heat on Day 10 forced matches to be played under cover.
Alexander Zverev got the benefit of playing under a roof at Rod Laver Arena and advanced to the final four with a 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-1, 7-6 (3) win over 20-year-old Learner Tien.
The No. 3-ranked Zverev, last year’s runner-up in Australia, reached his 10th Grand Slam semifinal on the back of 24 aces and just a single double-fault, which he served when he had six match points in the deciding tiebreaker.
Top-ranked Sabalenka, also a runner-up in Melbourne last year, is aiming for her third Australian Open title in four years. She won back-to-back titles here in 2023 and 2024 and lost the final ago to Madison Keys.
The first of the four quarterfinals scheduled on Day 10 was played outdoors, despite predictions of the temperature peaking at 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit) in Melbourne.
Sabalenka said her later news conference, laughing, “I guess, yeah, as a woman, we are stronger than the guys. So they had to close the roof for the guys so they don’t suffer!”
“These teenagers have tested me in the last couple of rounds, incredible player. It was a tough match. Don’t look at the score. She played incredible tennis and she pushed me to a one-step better level. It was a battle,” she said during on-court interview.
In the first of the night matches at Rod Laver Arena, No. 3 Coco Gauff was scheduled to meet Elina Svitolina. Sabalenka will play the winner of that match in the semifinals.
