Aryna Sabalenka defeats Elina Svitolina to reach Australian Open final

Aryna Sabalenka has dared officials to penalise her again for grunting after she rumbled over the top of Ukrainian Elina Svitolina in the Australian Open semi-final on Thursday to reach her fourth straight final at Melbourne Park. The world No 1 suppressed Svitolina’s mid-match momentum in a 6-2, 6-3 victory in just 77 minutes on Rod Laver Arena thanks to a dominant display of power tennis.

Sabalenka said she was wary given Svitolina’s impressive Melbourne Park run, and had wanted to play aggressively. “I felt like I had to step in and push as much pressure as I could back on her, and I’m glad the level was there today,” she said on court, before adding that while she was proud to have progressed to the final without dropping a set: “The job is not done.”

The match swung her way in the fourth game when she broke Svitolina the first of four times. But it started in unusual fashion when the umpire, Louise Engzell, awarded a point to Svitolina for hindrance, after Sabalenka unleashed an unusual scream mid-point.

The 27-year-old sought a video review, but it only confirmed the umpire’s original decision. It prompted an exchange between player and umpire that clarified the grunt in question added a second, trailing sound. The confrontation clearly irked the top seed, who became even more fiery through a barrage of groundstrokes. By the end, Sabalenka had hit 29 winners to Svitolina’s 12.