Zheng defeats Yastremska to advance to Australian Open final

China's Zheng Qinwen ended qualifier Dayana Yastremska's fairytale run at the Australian Open with a 6-4 6-4 win on Thursday, advancing to her first Grand Slam final against defending champion Aryna Sabalenka.

The points were short and sharp for the majority of the battle and followed the same pattern in both sets, with the two exchanging breaks early on and 12th seed Zheng taking the extra break in the seventh game both times.

"It feels unbelievable," Zheng said on court.

"I'm super excited to have such a great performance today and get into the final. My opponent played unbelievable tennis and has really good baseline strokes. It's tough to explain my feelings now."

Zheng, who has rained down more aces than any other woman at Melbourne Park on her way to the final, is aiming to emulate her hero, Li Na, who won the Australian Open 10 years ago.

"We love her," Zheng said of Li, who earlier in the tournament advised her to "just go for it" and not overthink things.

However, after defeating several lower-ranked players to reach the final, the 21-year-old will now face a formidable opponent in Belarusian second seed Sabalenka, who has not lost a set in the last two weeks.

"I'm sure the final will be really competitive, because I think Sabalenka, she's one of the most big hitters right now in the tour," Zheng told reporters.

She and Sabalenka practiced together before the tournament, and the Belarusian predicted a "great battle" with Zheng in the final.

In her semi-final, Zheng kept the pressure on Yastremska in the first set, blasting cross-court winners from both wings and leaving the Ukrainian clutching her abdomen in pain.

After taking a medical timeout, the 23-year-old returned to the court with Zheng holding in the following game.

The Ukrainian extended the set by winning the next game with a clever drop shot, but the errors added up to give Zheng the first set.

Zheng started off stronger in the second set, holding her first service game to love and then taking an early break after Yastremska's errors, but the 23-year-old Ukrainian broke right back.

Zheng broke again in the seventh game, aided by a double fault from Yastremska and a shanked shot that went long.

Yastremska bravely held her serve, with Zheng fluffing an easy smash, but the Chinese player rallied to win the match with an unreturnable serve.

SportsLigue