Aryna Sabalenka maintained her pursuit of a third Australian Open title in four years with a dominant quarter-final victory over teenager Iva Jovic – but third seed Coco Gauff suffered a 59-minute demolition at the hands of Elina Svitolina.
World number one Sabalenka said her mentality is “trophy or nothing” after overpowering rising American star Jovic 6-3 6-0.
The 27-year-old Belarusian has a favorable 5-1 head-to-head record against Svitolina – but she will be wary after the Ukrainian dismantled Gauff 6-1 6-2.
A despondent Gauff served five double faults, made 26 unforced errors, hit just three winners and smashed her racquet in the players’ area after the loss.
Four-time major singles champion Sabalenka has made the semi-final stage at 14 of the last 17 majors she has contested.
She has become only the third women’s player to reach eight consecutive singles semi-finals at Grand Slams in the past 38 years, after Lindsay Davenport and Martina Hingis.
“I think that it’s unbelievable what I was able to achieve,” Sabalenka said.
“What’s really helping me to be there all the time is the focus that I’m having.
“Focusing on the right things definitely helps a lot with the consistency.”
