Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina will face off in the bid for their first Australian Open title on Saturday night.
Then, Australian wildcard doubles pair Rinky Hijikata and Jason Kubler will look to make it back-to-back years of local champions at the event.
Follow Day 13 of the Australian Open in our live blog below!
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‘LOVE THIS SO MUCH’: EMOTIONS SPILL OUT AFTER GIRLS’ FINAL
Tennis fans were touched after a heartfelt moment following a thrilling Australian Open junior girls’ final on Saturday afternoon.
Russian 15-year-olds and friends Alina Korneeva and Mirra Andreeva faced off in the title decider with Korneeva coming back from a set down to prevail 6-7(2) 6-4 7-5 in a mammoth three-hour, 18-minute match.
Korneeva threw away two championship points serving at 5-4 in the final set but broke back right away to seal the title.
The close result left Andreeva in tears but Korneeva quickly ran over to her friend to console her, which melted many on social media.
“Love this so much!!! Go girls!!! No one deserved to lose,” injured Australian star Daria Saville tweeted.
Prominent tennis journalist Stephanie Myles added: “Totally class behaviour by the champion, whispering words of comfort in Andreeva’s ear before going on to celebrate it.”
SABALENKA v RYBAKINA PREVIEW
Aryna Sabalenka will be looking to cap a stunning form turnaround with a breakthrough major when she takes on 22nd seed Elena Rybakina in the Australian Open final on Saturday night.
In Adelaide last year, Sabalenka was left in tears as her second serve abandoned her, with the 24-year-old resorting to underarm serves at stages and crashing out of the first round in both lead-in tournaments before a fourth-round exit at the Australian Open.
That year, Sabalenka served up 440 double faults – 151 more than the second-worst on Tour – but working with a biomechanics specialist saw the fifth seed become virtually a different player this Australian summer.
“I was, in that moment, open for whatever. I was just like, ‘Please, someone help me to fix this f***ing serve,’” Sabalenka during her success at Melbourne Park this year.
Sabalenka is currently undefeated in 2023, including a title-run in Adelaide and the run to the final here without dropping a set in either, making her the first since Agnieszka Radwanska in 2013 to do so.
She has long been discussed as one of the most talented players on tour yet to win a major.
The Belarusian will have her work cut out for her against Rybakina, with the reigning Wimbledon champion one of the few players on Tour who can match her for power from the back of the court.
Rybakina has charged through the tournament, taking out former grand slam champions Iga Swiatek, Jelena Ostapenko and Victoria Azarenka en route to the final.
She is yet to defeat Sabalenka in the pair’s three meetings, but each required a deciding set and the pair haven’t faced each other since Rybakina became a grand slam champion at Wimbledon last year.
While Sabalenka’s serve is much-improved, her also-powerful opponent has struck a tournament-best 45 aces so far.
Stef gives Philippoussis a cheeky dig | 00:33
AUSTRALIAN OPEN DAY 13 – ORDER OF PLAY (All times AEDT)
Rod Laver Arena
Matches start from 7:30pm
Women’s Final: [22] Elena Rybakina (KAZ) v [5] Aryna Sabalenka
Men’s Doubles Final: Rinky Hijikata (AUS) / Jason Kubler (AUS) v Hugo Nys (MON) / Jan Zielinski (POL)
Follow the Australian Open in the live blog below!