MELBOURNE, Australia -- Elena Rybakina defeated Iga Swiatek 7-5, 6-1 on Wednesday to reach the semifinals of the Australian Open and prevent the No. 2 seed from completing the career Grand Slam.
The win gave Rybakina, the No. 5 seed, a shot at her second Grand Slam title after winning Wimbledon in 2022.
Swiatek is a four-time French Open champion and has won the US Open and Wimbledon. She was trying to become the 11th woman to complete a career Grand Slam.
The first set took an hour, and Rybakina broke Swiatek in the final game. The second was almost the opposite.
Rybakina, who was born in Russia but represents Kazakhstan, broke her Polish opponent twice to start the set and moved to a 3-0 lead. She served two aces to go ahead 4-1, broke in the sixth game and finished the match with an ace.
"It was a high-intensity match. First set was tight, a few points made the difference," Swiatek said. "In the second set, for sure, she improved the serve. She was going for the shots, and it got much tougher.
"I know what I need to improve, and it's kind of the same stuff that I had in my mind before the tournament as well. So there's no breakthrough lesson."
The two played each other five times last season.
"We know each other pretty well," Rybakina said. "In the first set for both of us, the first serve was not really working so we were trying to step in on the second serve and put pressure on the other.
"In the second I just started to play more freely and served better," Rybakina added. "For now the serve is really helping, so hopefully I can continue like this."
Rybakina spoke for most players about the grind of the Grand Slam tournaments -- two weeks of trying to stay focused.
"There is always, like, challenging days," she said. "You can play indoor, you can play outdoor, sun, it can be night match. So all these conditions a bit tricky. Also, how quick you can adapt to these circumstances."
"When it's the first final and you go so far in the tournament, of course you are more emotional," she added.
Rybakina will face Jessica Pegula, who defeated fellow American Amanda Anisimova 6-2, 7-6 (1) in the last women's quarterfinal, in a semifinal on Thursday. Pegula is looking for her first Grand Slam title after losing the US Open final in 2024.
In the other semifinal Thursday, top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka will play Elina Svitolina.
The Associated Press and PA contributed to this report.
