Sabalenka storms into Australian Open final after dominant win over Svitolina
World number one Aryna Sabalenka powered into her fourth consecutive Australian Open final with a dominant 6 2, 6 3 win over Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina in a politically charged semi final in Melbourne. The Belarusian, chasing a third Melbourne crown, denied 12th seed Svitolina the chance to become the first Ukrainian woman to reach a Grand Slam singles final in the Open era. Like other Ukrainian players, Svitolina has maintained a policy of not shaking hands with opponents from Russia or Belarus because of the war in Ukraine. Before the match at Rod Laver Arena, an announcement informed fans there would be no handshake and a message on the big screen asked them to respect that decision. The two players also kept a noticeable distance during the pre match formalities and photographs. Both women entered the semi final in red […]