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Aryna Sabalenka made a statement about her goals at the Australian Open by defeating Belinda Bencic to reach the quarter-finals, while Magda Linette defeated fourth seed Caroline Garcia.
Sabalenka reached the quarter-finals for the first time with a 7-5 6-2 victory over Switzerland’s Bencic, setting up a meeting with Donna Vekic, while Poland’s Linette reached her first Grand Slam quarter-final 7-6 (7). -3) 6-4 beat fourth seed Garcia with former world No 1 Karolina Pliskova waiting for her next.
Sabalenka started the season by winning the title in Adelaide and has yet to drop a set in 2023 as she looks to win her first major title.
She has been knocking on the door for years, reaching the semi-finals at the US Open and the last four at Wimbledon in 2021, but has yet to make it to the final.
Last year, she started the season struggling to find her way on court, but everything seems to be going well and Sabalenka was impressive in her 7-5 6-2 win against 12th seed Bencic, another player who is still in good form, who has 32 winners and only. 18 unforced errors.
A consultation with a biomechanic expert proved key to solving the problem she was serving and Sabalenka now sees it as a blessing in disguise.
“I’m very happy that this thing happened to me,” he said.
“Before, I wouldn’t be very open. I would be like, ‘You know what, my service is good, I don’t want to change anything’. Actually, even if my service is used, it’s not really true.
“I, at the moment, am open to anything. I’m just like, ‘Please, people help me to fix this serve.
“I want to believe that the way I’m working right now, the way I’m on the court right now, this is a new beginning, and this is the next step. So I really want to believe that this is going to help. me.”
The conditions at Melbourne Park this year clearly favor the power players and Sabalenka will be a heavy favorite to make the final from the bottom half, especially after the exit of fourth seed Garcia in another upset.
Next up for fifth seed Sabalenka will be a match against unseeded Croatia Vekicwhich ended the run of 17-year-old Linda Fruhvirtova with a 6-2 1-6 6-3 victory.
Karolina Pliskova needed just 55 minutes to beat China’s Zhang Shuai 6-0 6-4 to move into the quarter-finals
Pliskova has slid virtually unnoticed through the rounds, reaching the last eight with a 6-0 6-4 victory over Zhang Shuai.
The Czech missed his first Grand Slam since the 2012 US Open here last year after suffering a hand injury.
Pliskova said: “It’s amazing to be here because I was really sad last year because I missed out especially this season.
“It just took me a while because I also started to still be sore. I feel like lately I’ve found my game. Now I’m playing like I’m playing in the US swing. It’s nice to be in the quarterfinals again. Second Slam in a row.”
Garcia ended last season with the biggest title of her career at the WTA Finals and came into Melbourne as one of the favorites but suffered a shock defeat against the 45th. Linette.
The Pole, who had unexpectedly gone ahead of compatriots Iga Swiatek and Hubert Hurkacz, claimed a 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 victory to make the first Grand Slam quarter-final of his career.
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