Belarusian tennis player Sabalenka to face Kostyuk in Brisbane tournament final

Aryna Sabalenka Advances to Brisbane Open Final

Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenka defeated Karolina Muchova 6-3, 6-4 at the Brisbane International on Saturday, securing her spot in the tournament final for the third consecutive year. This marks Sabalenka’s first appearance in the Australian Open tune-up event since 2021.

In Sunday’s title match, Sabalenka will face Ukrainian player Marta Kostyuk, who defeated world number six Jessica Pegula 6-0, 6-3 to advance to her third consecutive top-10 win. Kostyuk also previously beat Amanda Anisimova and Mirra Andreeva in her previous rounds.

Sabalenka has been performing well in her first tournament of the season, having defeated reigning Melbourne Park champion Madison Keys in straight sets in the quarterfinals. Muchova, known for her inventive playing style, had a 3-1 career head-to-head record over Sabalenka, including victories in their previous three meetings.

Sabalenka took control of the match with a break in the second game and went on to win the first set with a huge backhand winner. She edged ahead again at 5-4 in the next set to secure the win on serve. In post-match comments, Sabalenka expressed her satisfaction with the victory, stating that she was happy to close the match in straight sets.

In other tournament news, Brandon Nakashima beat Aleksandar Kovacevic 7-6(4), 6-4 in the Brisbane men’s event semifinals, while Filipina Alexandra Eala lost a match point to Wang Xinyu in the Auckland Classic. Top seed Lorenzo Musetti reached the final of the Hong Kong Open, beating Andrey Rublev 6-7(3), 7-5, 6-4.

Source: Al Jazeera