Two days after reaching the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in her career, Madga Linette has now reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open tennis tournament.
The 30-year-old Linette defeated Karolina Pliskova in straight sets 6-3, 7-5 on Wednesday, adding the former world number one to the list of players she has beaten at Melbourne Park during the tournament.
Linette, who had lost seven of her last nine meetings against Pliskova, defeated Anette Kontaveit, Ekaterina Alexandrova and Caroline Garcia, the ATP Finals champion, in a row.
A Polish woman was among the favorites to reach the last rounds of the tournament, but it was rather Iga Swiatek that everyone was waiting for, and not Linette.
“It’s so emotional, I can’t really believe it,” Linette said. I tried to stay calm and took my chances when I could. »
Linette will face fifth-seeded Aryna Sabalenka, who easily defeated Donna Vekic in straight sets 6-3, 6-2 on Wednesday.
The other players to participate in the semi-finals were announced on Tuesday. Victoria Azarenka, double champion in Melbourne, and Elena Rybakina, defending champion at Wimbledon, will cross swords. Rybakina got the better of Swiatek in the fourth round.
On the men’s side, Tommy Paul also earned his ticket to his first career Grand Slam semi-final by ending Ben Shelton’s surprising run.
Paul defeated Shelton in four sets 7-6(6), 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 in an all-American matchup.
Paul became the first American to reach the semi-finals in Melbourne since Andy Roddick in 2009. Roddick is also the last player from the United States to win a major tournament, 20 years ago.
Paul’s semi-final opponent will be Novak Djokovic, a nine-time Australian champion and winner of 21 Grand Slams, who crushed fifth seed Andrey Rublev 6-1, 6-2, 6-4.
After struggling with persistent hamstring pain in his first two matches, Djokovic stepped on the accelerator: he won his last 11 sets and conceded just 27 games during that streak, as he covets a 10th career title at Melbourne Park.
The Serb is therefore 44-10 in the quarter-finals of a major tournament, while Rublev is 0-7.
After taking his Australian Open winning streak to 26, equaling Andre Agassi’s tally, Djokovic said he was looking forward to facing Paul for the first time in his career.
“I know his game… He’s been on the circuit for a few years. I watched him play, especially here during this tournament. He’s probably playing the best tennis of his life right now,” Djokovic said.
“He’s an explosive, very dynamic player,” he added.
Stefanos Tsitsipas and Karen Khachanov have already secured their ticket to one of the two semi-finals.