Defending champion Sabalenka beats US Open winner Gauff to reach Australian Open final
By The Associated Press on January 25, 2024.
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) – Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka avenged a U.S. Open final loss to Coco Gauff and became the first woman since Serena Williams to reach back-to-back finals at the Australian Open. Sabalenka attacked Gauff’s serve throughout a 7-6 (2), 6-4 semifinal win on Thursday night. She will meet Zheng Qinwen or Dayana Yastremska in Saturday’s championship decider. Sabalenka is on a 13-match roll at Melbourne Park, where she made her Grand Slam breakthrough last year. Serena Williams reached consecutive finals here in 2016 and ’17. ___ AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis 7-6
