Aryna Sabalenka fought off one teenage challenger but finds another in her path to the Australian Open semi-finals.
World number one Sabalenka looked to be cruising to victory against 19-year-old Victoria Mboko at 6-1 4-1 only for the Canadian to show just why she is so highly rated.
Mboko saved three match points at 5-4 but Sabalenka regrouped and won a 20th consecutive grand slam tie-break in dominant fashion to claim a 6-1 7-6 (1) victory.
The world number one was hugely impressed by Mboko, who is now on the verge of the top 10, saying: “She’s an amazing player. It was quite a fight.
“I’m super happy that I was able to close this match in straight sets. The second set was a bit tricky. But I’m happy with the level I played. Happy to be through.”
Next up for Sabalenka is an even younger opponent in American Iva Jovic, who only turned 18 last month.
The teenager followed up her maiden top-10 win against Jasmine Paolini by swatting aside Yulia Putintseva 6-0 6-1 in just 53 minutes.
Jovic already has 11 victories this season, more than any other woman, and is the youngest player to reach the quarter-finals at Melbourne Park without dropping a set since Venus Williams back in 1998.
She has been tipped as a future world number one by her idol Novak Djokovic, with whom she shares Serbian heritage and who has given her advice on her game this fortnight.
Jovic picked Sabalenka at the end of last season as the player she most wanted to face, and she will now get her wish, with the teenager saying: “I think I’m just going to try to keep taking care of my side of the net.
“Obviously she’s number one for a reason and had so much success at this tournament, but that’s what I want.
“I said it last year, I hope to be able to play her this year because you definitely want to play the best and see how it goes. So I’m just really excited.”
Sabalenka is maintaining her formidable record in slams, with the top seed, who is bidding for her third title here in four years, having made at least the quarter-finals at every major tournament she has played since the French Open in 2022.
