Reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina is through to her first Australian Open semifinal with a confident 6-2 6-4 victory over Jelena Ostapenko.
The 22nd-seeded Rybakina fired 11 aces and 24 winners as she eased past the 17th-seeded Ostapenko in one hour and 19 minutes. It was a routine first set for Rybakina and she wasn’t interrupted by a delay of about half an hour for the roof to close at 3-1 due to rain. The Kazakh comfortably took a double break lead and dominated the first set.
The 2017 Roland Garros champion Ostapenko briefly threatened a fightback at the start of the second set, but Rybakina quickly got back on the fast track to the semifinals and sealed the match with an ace to extend her tournament-leading tally to 35.