Sabalenka defeated Svitolina and reached the final of the Australian Open

Arina Sabalenka reached her fourth consecutive Australian Open final with a 6-2 6-3 win over Ukraine's Elina Svitolina in the semi-finals on Thursday.

Tournament number one, Belarusian tennis player Sabalenka, will compete for her third title at Melbourne Park in four years and fifth Grand Slam title overall against the winner of the late semi-final between Jessica Pegula and Elena Rybakina at the Rod Laver Arena.

“I just can’t believe it. This is an incredible achievement, but the work is not finished yet,” said world No. 1 Sabalenka on court. “I'm very happy about the victory. She is a very strong competitor and played incredible tennis all week.”

Svitolina has spoken openly about the stress of playing against players from other countries and said she hopes she can bring «ease» to her country at the Australian Open after a difficult winter.

However, 27-year-old Sabalenka dashed these hopes with a display of fierce and unbridled strength.

She became the third woman in the professional era to reach four consecutive Australian Open finals, after Yvonne Goolagong Cowley (1971-76) and Martina Hingis (1997-2002), who each played in six consecutive finals.

“I’m very upset that I couldn’t go further this evening,” Svitolina told reporters. “Of course, it’s very difficult when you play against the number one in the world who is in great shape.”

Xrust Sabalenka defeated Svitolina and reached the final of the Australian Open