SYDNEY, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- World number one Aryna Sabalenka will play to defend her title at the Brisbane International in Sunday's final after beating Karolina Muchova in the semifinals on Saturday.
Sabalenka continued her dominant run at the Australian Open warm-up event by defeating the world number 20 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 29 minutes to reach the final at the Brisbane International without dropping a set for the third consecutive year.
The victory on Saturday maintains Sabalenka's record of reaching the finals at all seven tournaments she has entered in Australia since the start of 2023 and improves her record in the country in that period to 37 wins and two losses.
Sabalenka, who is aiming to win a third Australian Open title in four years later in January, played her best tennis so far in Brisbane on Saturday, hitting 32 winners and winning 88 percent of points on her first serve.
"I worked really hard and each match against her is just another opportunity to get the win, and I'm super happy that today was the day when I was able to get the win," Sabalenka said on court after the match.
Sabalenka will play either the sixth-ranked Jessica Pegula or Marta Kostyuk in Sunday's final. ■
