Former world No 7 Barbara Schett has hailed Aryna Sabalenka for overcoming “a few demons” after she defeated Coco Gauff in the semi-finals of the 2024 Australian Open.
Seven-time major winner Mats Wilander felt the scoreline was “closer than the match actually was” due to Gauff’s fighting qualities, while praising Sabalenka’s clear game plan.
Defending champion Sabalenka produced a strong performance to down world No 4 Gauff 7-6(2), 6-4 in the last four of the Melbourne major on Thursday.
Gauff defeated Sabalenka 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the US Open final in September to claim her maiden Grand Slam title and the Belarusian declared she “wanted revenge” ahead of this encounter.
Sabalenka has found Gauff a difficult opponent since the pair first met in 2020 and now holds a 3-4 head-to-head record against the 19-year-old American.
The world No 2 will take on either Dayana Yastremska or Zheng Qinwen in the Australian Open final on Saturday as she looks to win her second major crown.
Speaking on Eurosport, Schett marvelled at the power Sabalenka hits with and praised the 25-year-old for her ability to overcome her nerves.
“Very impressive performance by Aryna Sabalenka. The conditions are a bit cooler today and you think conditions are gonna be a little bit slower, but when you’re sitting courtside watching Aryna Sabalenka, the power she hits those shots…,” the Austrian said.
“Especially in that second set towards the end where it was getting tight again, she stuck to her game plan, she fought a few demons you could see that she was getting a little bit nervous towards the end of the first set serving that one out, and also the second set.
“She really, really impressed me so much. I don’t think she loves playing against Coco Gauff like she said during the on-court interview. But she’s done an amazing job.”
Former world No 1 Wilander applauded Gauff for making the match close, but felt Sabalenka’s aggressive approach and the indoor conditions made the Belarusian too much to handle.
“Honestly, I think the score was closer than the match actually was, but that’s Coco Gauff I think, she just fights so hard and when you lose your rhythm a little bit – Coco Gauff is gonna be there,” the Swede assessed.
“She gets to everything, she has a lot of variety and obviously she makes extremely well. But again, in the tiebreaker – just a little bit too good, Sabalenka. She’s very clear in her game plan and I think it’s similar to what happened to Alexander Zverev yesterday, when you get such a good start.
“From my own experience, it’s like, ‘okay I might be in a tiebreaker, but I’m doing the right thing, I should have won the first set.’ Of course if she loses the tiebreaker – completely different match.
“But I thought the game plan was very clear and the indoor conditions I think really favour Sabalenka when you play that kind of style.”