Aryna Sabalenka eases past Daria Kasatkina at Brisbane International, Viktoria Azarenka up next in semi-finals

Aryna Sabalenka continued her excellent record in Australia after easing past Daria Kasatkina to reach the Brisbane International semi-finals.

Sabalenka prevailed past Kasatkina 6-1 6-4 to win a 14th consecutive match Down Under and seal her place in the last four, where she will face Victoria Azarenka.

The world No.2 secured the first set in a mere 32 minutes after showcasing her devastating array of shots that proved too much for the Russian.

An early break of Kasatkina’s serve moved Sabalenka 2-0 ahead, but an uncharacteristically wayward return allowed the former to break back at 2-1.

From that point onwards it was relatively straightforward for the Belarusian to take the first set, breaking Kasatkina twice more and looking imperious on her serve to motor towards 6-1.

Kasatkina rallied impressively in the second set to pose Sabalenka more questions, and was looking more comfortable on her serve.

But Sabalenka managed to break the Russian once more at 3-2, and was still able to draw out the errors from her opponent, as that devastating backhand moved the Belarusian 5-3 ahead.

The 25-year-old would win the contest with her second match point, as Kasatkina’s long return curtailed the contest after one hour and 28 minutes.

This was the eighth meeting between Sabalenka and Kasatkina, and the 2023 Australian Open spoke about facing her counterpart so often.

“You get to know each other better every time you play,” Sabalenka said in her on-court interview.

“Every time you play against Daria it’s always a tough match as she’s a great player and a great fighter.

“Going into this match, I knew it was going to be a great battle and that I had to be focused from the beginning until the end, otherwise she would take that opportunity and put me under pressure.”

Elsewhere, Azarenka sealed her semi-final meeting with Sabalenka following a gripping 6-3 3-6 7-5 win over Jelena Ostapenko.

The world No.23 wrapped up the first set in 37 minutes of breaking Ostapenko’s serve twice and winning on her first set point.

The Latvian’s response was impressive and she levelled the overall score by improving on her own serve, and securing a decisive break of Azarenka in the sixth game.

The third-set decider ebbed and flowed both ways with three more breaks of serve, before Azarenka wrapped up the contest on her first match point to win it 7-5.

Elsewhere Linda Noskova overcame Maria Andreeva 7-5 6-3 to set up a semi-final clash with Elena Rybakina, after Anastasia Potapova was forced to retire with an abdominal injury in their quarter-final clash.

The world No.4 won the first set 6-1, and the last four sets she has played have ended either 6-1 or 6-0.