MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Victoria Azarenka has defeated Jessica Pegula 6-4, 6-1 to reach the Australian Open semifinals for the first time in a decade.
Azarenka displayed the same confident brand of hard-hitting baseline tennis that carried her to championship at Melbourne Park in 2012 and 2013. Azarenka’s semifinal opponent will be reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina. She beat 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko 6-2, 6-4.
Karen Khachanov moved into his first Australian Open semifinal when Sebastian Korda stopped playing in the third set because of an injured right wrist. Khachanov will face either No. 3 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas or unseeded Jiri Lehecka for a berth in the final.
