Aryna Sabalenka was in inspired form earlier today, as she secured her spot in yet another Australian Open final.
Elina Svitolina was the unfortunate casualty, who was powerless to stop her Belarusian opponent from bullying her way through the semi-finals.
She was explosive but measured, and won the match with meticulous power that did not relent.
However, there was a key flashpoint early on in the clash which clearly aggravated Aryna Sabalenka, but it concerned the umpire rather than Svitolina.
She has since spoken about it.
Aryna Sabalenka speaks after Australian Open umpire controversy
The moment in question came after she had struck a shot mid-way through a rally, mis-hitting the ball and sending it looping into the sky.
Because of this, she added an extra exclamation onto her grunt, likely one of frustration for getting her strike so wrong.
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Inexplicably, the ball somehow dipped in, but because of that extra moan, the umpire called for a hindrance and gifted Svitolina the point.
Sabalenka was not happy, and whilst her protest was turned away even after a video review, she has since carried her frustration into the press conference.
She first admitted that it had never happened to her before, and would go on to explain: “It’s just like the ball was deep. The ball was, like, the bounce was wrong, and it was just like the timing. I was excelling, and it just happened naturally.
“Then she called it, and I was, like, What? What is wrong with you?
“I mean, I think it was the wrong call, but whatever. She really — how do I say in a nice way? She really p——- me off, and it’s actually help me and benefit my game. I was more aggressive. I was not happy with the call, and it really helped me to get that game.
“So if she ever want to do it again, like, I want to make sure that she’s not afraid of it. Go ahead, call it. It’s going to help me (laughter).”
Asked to expand on how it helped her, Sabalenka added: “I don’t know. I think today specifically it help me. I played better because I was more aggressive, but overall, if it’s not in my control, and it wasn’t in my control, I asked for the Video Review. She still made the same call.
“I thought there was other person who is going to make the decision, so it was her, so I knew she’s not going to change her decision.
“If it’s something not in my control, I don’t care about that. I think that’s the right approach to these kind of situations.”
She certainly upped her level, with Caroline Wozniacki stating that this was Sabalenka’s best performance of the tournament so far.
Aryna Sabalenka reaches a fourth straight Australian Open final
Sabalenka spoke on court after the match and was seemingly in good spirits. After all, why wouldn’t she be?
Despite this frustration, she still soared past Svitolina, putting on a remarkable display to earn her spot in a fourth straight Australian Open final.
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Thus far, she has won two and lost one. She’ll be hoping to make it a 75% win rate by the end of this week.
Sabalenka truly is the queen of hard-court tennis, and it will take something really special, especially if she plays like she did today, to stop her from winning a third Australian Open crown.
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