Elena Rybakina

MELBOURNE, Australia — Elena Rybakina defeated Iga Swiatek 7-5, 6-1 early today to reach the semifinals of the Australian Open and prevent the Polish player from completing a career Grand Slam of singles titles.

The win gave Rybakina a shot at her second Grand Slam title after winning Wimbledon in 2022.

Swiatek is a four-time French Open champion and has won the U.S. Open and Wimbledon. She was trying to become the 11th woman to complete a career Grand Slam.

The first set took an hour and Rybakina broke Swiatek in the final game. The second was almost the opposite.

Rybakina, who was born in Russia but represents Kazakhstan, broke her Polish opponent twice to start the set and moved to a 3-0 lead. She served two aces to go ahead 4-1, broke in the sixth game and finished the match with an ace.

The two played each other five times last season.

“We know each other pretty well,” Rybakina said. “In the first set for both of us, the first serve was not really working so we were trying to step in on the second serve and put pressure on the other.

“In the second I just started to play more freely and served better,” Rybakina added. “For now the serve is really helping, so hopefully I can continue like this.”

Pegula advances

In the last women’s quarterfinal, two Americans squared off with Jessica Pegula defeating Amanda Anisimova, 6-2, 7-6 (7-1), early today.

Pegula is looking for her first Grand Slam title after losing the U.S. Open final in 2024.

Pegula will play Rybakina in a semifinal on Thursday. In the other semifinal Thursday, top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka will play Elina Svitolina.

The men’s semifinals are set for Friday.

Gauff frustrated

Coco Gauff smashed her racket into the concrete floor once for every time she dropped serve, and another one for good measure, after her Australian Open quarterfinal loss to Svitolina on Tuesday.

The third-seeded Gauff, a two-time major winner, struggled with her serve and recorded five double-faults in the first set, when she was broken four times.

There were two more service breaks in the second set and, once the match was over — in 59 minutes — Gauff stayed composed as she left the center court and tried to find somewhere quiet to vent her frustrations.

Turns out, there’s pretty much no place in Rod Laver Arena except for the locker rooms that is beyond the scope of the cameras. So, the seven times she pounded her racket into a concrete ramp were far from a private moment following her 6-1, 6-2 defeat.

“Certain moments — the same thing happened to Aryna (Sabalenka) after I played her in the final of the U.S. Open — I feel like they don’t need to broadcast,” Gauff said in her post-match news conference. “I tried to go somewhere where I thought there wasn’t a camera because I don’t necessarily like breaking rackets.

“I broke one racket (at the) French Open, I think, and I said I would never do it again on court because I don’t feel like that’s a good representation. So, yeah, maybe some conversations can be had.”