MELBOURNE, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- Former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina made a statement on Wednesday in her bid to win a maiden Australian Open title after defeating flustered second seed Iga Swiatek 7-5, 6-1 in the quarterfinals.
By the closing stages of the 1-hour-35-minute match, a rattled Swiatek was arguing a line call as her hopes of ending a hoodoo at Melbourne Park slipped away.
Swiatek has won six Grand Slam titles across the other three majors, but has never made it past the semifinals at the Australian Open. The Pole will be made to wait longer after an indifferent tournament in which she struggled to find her best form.
"Really pleased with the win. We know each other pretty well and I was trying to stay aggressive," Kazakhstan's Rybakina said.
The players were greeted by considerably cooler conditions after Melbourne was hit by a heatwave on Tuesday that required the roof to be closed on center court.
It was the latest chapter in the rivalry between the pair, with Swiatek entering with a 6-5 advantage.
There was little separating them in an absorbing opening set marked by powerful baseline hitting, but fifth-seeded Rybakina outlasted Swiatek to take the first set before taking control, extending her run to five consecutive straight-sets wins.
The 2023 tournament finalist will next play fourth seed Amanda Anisimova or sixth-seeded Jessica Pegula, who meet in an all-American quarterfinal. ■
