The Japan Times - Sabalenka faces Svitolina roadblock in Melbourne final quest

The 27-year-old has won the Melbourne title twice, in 2023 and 2024, and seemed destined for another crown last year but was upset in the final by Madison Keys.

That defeat left her shattered and she is desperate to go all the way this time.

"I think every player when they get to the tournament is trophy or nothing," she said ahead of facing 12th seed Elina Svitolina.

"The mentality is the same, and it's always in the back of your mind that obviously you want to win it."

The pair have played six times previously, with Sabalenka winning five.

But she is wary of the threat posed by a player in search of her first final at a major.

"I'll just go, and I'll be focused on myself and on my game, and I'll be fighting for every point. That's my approach," said Sabalenka, a four-time Grand Slam champion.

Like other Ukrainian players, Svitolina does not shake hands with opponents from Russia and Moscow's ally Belarus. That will include Sabalenka.

She stunned third seed Coco Gauff in the last round and hoped that would bring "a little light" to her fellow Ukrainians during a bitter winter under attack by Russia.

Making a maiden Australian Open final will be an even bigger achievement for her and her homeland.

"It's a big challenge, of course, to play number one in the world," she said. "It's no secret that she's a very powerful player.

"She's very consistent for the past years with everything that she does on the court. For me, I'll have to be ready for that, try to find the ways and the little holes, little opportunities in her game."

They open the action on Rod Laver Arena in the evening with American sixth seed Jessica Pegula facing a threat from fifth seed Elena Rybakina afterwards.

The Moscow-born Kazakh Rybakina has made the Melbourne final once before, in 2023 when she lost in three tough sets to Sabalenka.

She is also the 2022 Wimbledon champion, with big-match experience under her belt.

But she is conscious that Pegula has already knocked out Keys and fourth seed Amanda Anisimova.

"She's a very experienced opponent and she moves well, and also her ball stays quite low," she said.

"So that makes it a bit difficult sometimes to play her, but I will try to adjust. Will try to do my best, definitely."

Pegula is zeroing in on her first Slam crown at the age of 31.

The closest she has come was losing the 2024 US Open final, also to Sabalenka.

She faces a player who stunned second seed and six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek in the quarter-finals and has won 18 of her last 19 matches.

"She's really tough to play, she has a massive serve, big groundstrokes, cool as a cucumber, you get nothing out of her," said Pegula of Rybakina.

"She's been playing some great tennis since the end of last year but I'm going to do my best to hopefully crack the code on her."

M.Matsumoto--JT