World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka moved into the semifinals of the Brisbane International after defeating world No. 5 Madison Keys 6–3, 6–3 in straight sets in a rematch of the 2025 Australian Open final on Friday.
The victory also saw Sabalenka notch up eight consecutive wins in Brisbane and 36 of her last 38 matches in Australia.
The match marked Sabalenka’s second meeting with Keys since her loss to the American in the Australian Open final, following a dominant 6–1, 6–0 victory at Indian Wells. She extended her head-to-head record to 6–2 since they first met in 2018.
The opening set was finely balanced, but Keys’ lack of precision proved decisive. She conceded seven points through double faults, hesitating between safety and aggression on her second serve as Sabalenka applied relentless pressure.
The second set unfolded as a series of breaks, with Keys losing serve in five consecutive games. Sabalenka steadied herself at 4–2 before taking full control, sealing the victory with three solid service games to close out the match.
“She’s a great player. It’s always tough battles against her. I was trying to stay focused, hold my serve and put as much pressure as I could on her serve. That’s all I was thinking about,” Sabalenka said. “She’s aggressive, and I tried to put all of that speed back on her.”
A two-time Brisbane International champion in 2023 and 2025, Sabalenka will now look to take another step towards a third title in four appearances, having finished runner-up in 2024, when she faces world No. 20 Karolina Muchova of Czechia on Saturday.
Muchova leads the head-to-head 3–1, having won each of their last three meetings dating back to 2023. Sabalenka’s lone victory in the series came in their first encounter in 2019.
“I always approach each match the same; it doesn’t matter what the score between us is. What’s in the past stays in the past. I’ll try to bring everything I’ve been working on throughout my career and improve every time,” Sabalenka added.
Muchova has battled chronic injury setbacks to reach the semifinals and produced a major upset at Pat Rafter Arena, defeating third seed Elena Rybakina 6–2, 2–6, 6–4 in a match lasting just over two hours.
–IANS
