Australian Open 2023 SF: Elena Rybakina vs Victoria Azarenka – Preview, Head-to-Head, and Prediction

Published by

2 years ago

22nd seed Elena Rybakina and 24th seed Victoria Azarenka lock horns in the semifinals of the 2023 Australian Open on Thursday.

Elena Rybakina at the 2023 Australian Open.

Elena Rybakina

After winning the 2022 Wimbledon Championships, Rybakina went through a lackluster patch when she managed to win just 14 out of the 24 matches she played coming into the 2023 Australian Open. However, she has once again hit overdrive and is looking like a force to reckon with.

In the first round, the Kazakhstani No. 1 picked up a solid win against Elisabetta Cocciaretto. Rybakina followed it up with an even better performance against Kaja Juvan in the second round, having a win percentage of 88 on the first serve. She won the match 6-2, 6-1. In the third round, Rybakina produced another scintillating effort to down 13th seed Danielle Collins 6-2, 5-7, 6-2. She followed it up with a humongous result in the fourth round as she defeated pre-tournament favorite Iga Swiatek in straight sets 6-4, 6-4. Facing another former Grand Slam champion, Jelena Ostapenko in the quarterfinals, Rybakina notched up another comfortable win in straight sets 6-2, 6-4 to sail into the final.

Victoria Azarenka

The 33-year-old has made it to the semifinals of a Grand Slam for the first time since her run to the finals of the 2020 US Open.

Victoria Azarenka (Getty)

Azarenka started off with a hard-fought win against Sofia Kenin in the first round. She followed it up with a thumping win against Nadia Podoroska. In the third round, the former world No. 1 lost her first set in the tournament against Madison Keys. Azarenka lost the first set but bounced back like the veteran she is and won the match 1-6, 6-2, 6-1. In the fourth round, Azarenka once again lost the first set but went on to win the match against Lin Zhu 4-6, 6-1, 6-4. The quarterfinals saw Azarenka take on the third seed Jessica Pegula. This was expected to be the toughest test so far in the tournament for the former world No. 1. Azarenka passed with flying colors, beating the 2022 Guadalajara Open winner in straight sets 6-4, 6-1.