8 hours ago
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By the second set of Aryna Sabalenka’s 13th consecutive grand slam quarter-final, it was quickly becoming clear that the best tennis player in the world had reached flow state and she could do anything she wanted with the ball. Up 2-0 and mercilessly hunting a double break, Sabalenka swept forward to the net and executed a sickly sweet forehand half-volley winner that would have satisfied even the legendary volleyers of yesteryear.
There was once a time when a great performance from Sabalenka meant the Belarusian pummelling every ball, aiming for every line and praying that her shots would happen to land in. She has worked herself into such a well-rounded player today, who suffocates her opponents through the completeness of her game and has so many options at her disposal. Despite a valiant effort from her young opponent to simply prolong their high-quality opening set, Sabalenka bulldozed Jovic 6-3, 6-0 to continue her run through the draw.
Sabalenka’s victory means the extension of what is becoming one of the great grand slam records of this century. She has now reached the semi-finals in 12 of her last 13 majors, the one anomaly being her grim experience at the French Open in 2024 where she was desperately struggling with food poisoning during her quarter-final loss to Mirra Andreeva. Even then, she only narrowly fell, losing in three tight sets.
“When I’m in the tournament, I’m not thinking about that, but sometimes we all stop for a second and we think the level we were able to reach, it sounds really incredible and tough to believe,” Sabalenka said. “For sure, sometimes I just think that it’s unbelievable what I was able to achieve.”
This scoreline does not reflect Jovic’s admirable fight. The youngest player inside the top 150, Jovic has enjoyed an incredible breakthrough tournament in Melbourne, reaching her first grand slam quarter-final, beating her first top 20 opponent in the No 7 seed Jasmine Paolini and achieving a result that will place her inside the top 20, all at 18 years old.
Jovic immediately trailed Sabalenka 3-0 and then fought off break points in her two subsequent games. However, she dug deep and was competitive for the remainder of the first set. She made her last stand in the bruising final game of the first set on Sabalenka’s serve, generating three break points and saving two of Sabalenka’s set points before the Belarusian converted the set with a blazing backhand winner.
However, Sabalenka is on a completely different level to anyone the teenager has ever played and will play this season. Just when it seemed like Jovic might be able to make life difficult for the Belarusian, Sabalenka elevated her level and she spent the second set eviscerating the ball, flitting to the net, peppering the American with drop shots and repeatedly turning defence to attack with ruthless efficiency.
Afterwards, Sabalenka was asked if she had played many sets in her career at the level she showed in set two: “Definitely not many matches,” she said. “In the second set I felt like I had to step in and put even more pressure on her, because I can see that she’s young, she’s hungry, and I could tell during the match that no matter what’s the score, she’s still going to be there trying and trying to figure her way. I knew that I have to step in and show the level and the class.”
Her class and stratospheric level has been apparent for years now. Once again, she is still in contention deep in a grand slam tournament as she fights for her fifth major title and third Australian Open title after reaching the final in the past four years. She awaits the winner of Tuesday night’s quarter-final between Coco Gauff, her conqueror in last year’s French Open final, one of her most painful defeats, and the formidable Elina Svitolina.
