Izuchukwu OkosiAustralian Open women’s defending champion, Aryna Sabalenka, on Thursday evening defeated world’s number 3, Coco Gauff, 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 to return to the final of the tournament.
Gauff who edged her opponent to win the US Open last year was overwhelmingly in position of supremacy in the first set but Sabalenka pegged her back to get a fighting chance.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThat turned out to be the case after a tennis match riddled with errors with six breaks before Sabalenka broke loose.
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Sabalenka will face Chinese 12th seed Zheng Qinwen in the final on Saturday.
The Chinese rival, Zheng, 21, reached her first Grand Slam final by ending Ukrainian qualifier Dayana Yastremska’s incredible run with a 6-4 6-4 win in Thursday’s second semi-final.
Zheng is aiming to become the second Chinese woman to win the Australian Open singles title – 10 years after Li Na’s famous victory.
Zheng said of her feat: “It feels unbelievable. I’m super excited to have such a great performance and arrive in the final.”
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
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