MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Aryna Sabalenka beat 18-year-old Iva Jovic 6-3, 6-0 to reach the semifinals of the Australian Open on Tuesday before searing heat on Day 10 forced matches to be played under cover.
Elina Svitolina stunned third-seeded Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-2 in a 59-minute night match to move into the semifinals in Australia for the first time.
Weeks into a tour return from a mental health break, the 12th-seeded Svitolina dominated the two-time major winner from the outset. Gauff struggled with her serve and recorded five double-faults in the first set, when she was broken four times.
She finally held in the fourth game of the second set, but by then it was too late. After leaving the court, a frustrated Gauff smashed her racket into the ground seven times in the player area.
In an afternoon match, Alexander Zverev got the benefit of playing under a roof at Rod Laver Arena and advanced to the final four with a 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-1, 7-6 (3) win over 20-year-old Learner Tien. The No. 3-ranked Zverev, last year's runner-up in Australia, reached his 10th Grand Slam semifinal on the back of 24 aces and just a single double-fault — which he served when he had six match points in the deciding tiebreaker.
Top-ranked Sabalenka, also a runner-up in Melbourne last year, is aiming for her third Australian Open title in four years. She won back-to-back titles here in 2023 and 2024 and lost the final a year ago to Madison Keys.
The first of the four quarterfinals scheduled on Day 10 was played outdoors, despite predictions of the temperature peaking at 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit) in Melbourne.
“I guess, yeah, as a woman, we are stronger than the guys,” Sabalenka said her later news conference, laughing. “So they had to close the roof for the guys so they don’t suffer!”
Sabalenka went up 3-0 in the first set and established her dominance early against the 29th-seeded Jovic.
Jovic had three breakpoint chances in the ninth game, which lasted 10 minutes, but wasn't able to convert against the world's No. 1-ranked woman. In the last game, Sabalenka served an ace on break point and clinched it with another ace on match point. She saved all five break points she faced.
It gave her back-to-back wins over up-and-coming teenagers following her fourth-round victory over 19-year-old Canadian Vicky Mboko.
“These teenagers have tested me in the last couple of rounds -- incredible player,” Sabalenka said of Jovic in an on-court interview.
“It was a tough match,” Sabalenka added. “Don’t look at the score. She played incredible tennis and she pushed me to a one-step better level. It was a battle.”
Jovic was born in California and is the daughter of parents who immigrated to the United States. Her father is Serbian and Jovic, naturally, has sought some tips from no other than Novak Djokovic.
Chang's influence
Zverev said Tien's level had increased dramatically since last year, when the young American reached the fourth round.
He credited the recent work Tien has done with Michael Chang, the 1989 French Open champion, as coach. Chang won that major at Roland Garros at the age of 17, which remains the youngest for a male to have won a Grand Slam singles title.
“Yeah, he’s a very good player. Very different than last year, for sure,” Zverev said of Tien, the only player outside the Top 10 to reach the quarterfinals. "It was incredible to see how he played from the baseline. I thought he was playing unbelievable.
“For me to win, I think, you know, the serve was very important for me, because on the baseline, again, he was playing amazing.”
The temperature topped 42 Celsius (108 F) at 5 p.m. local time, but started to drop ahead of the night session. Play was suspended on outside courts all afternoon.
Nightcap
Top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz faced Alex de Minaur in the last match of the day. Alcaraz has won six Grand Slam titles but has never won the Australian Open and has lost in the quarterfinals here the last two years.
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More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
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