Aryna Sabalenka lost a heartbreaking French Open semifinal to Karolina Muchova in 2023, then lost two more three-set matches to the Czech in 2023 Cincinnati and 2024 Beijing.
Sabalenka exacted revenge in Brisbane on Saturday.
The four-time Grand Slam champion defeated the 11th seed 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 29 minutes to reach her third consecutive Brisbane final and extend her winning streak at the event to nine matches.
Sabalenka hit 31 winners and 18 unforced errors, while Muchova hit 18 winners and 15 unforced errors. The Belarusian saved all four break points she faced.
Muchova tried to cause problems for Sabalenka, and sometimes succeeded. She had two break points in the second set to break serve at 5-3, but failed and was broken in the next game.
The Czechs ended up losing their last three games.
“There were a lot of near misses at the end of the second set, but very happy to end the match in straight sets,” said the world number one. “She’s a great opponent. I know if I give her that chance in the last game, she’s going to take it and then my game gets a little trickier.”
Still, Sabalenka had nothing but praise for the Czech, who is known for her effortless athleticism and free-flowing creativity.
“She’s incredible,” Sabalenka said of Muchova. “There were moments where she overplayed her game and played unbelievably hard, so I had to, yeah, applaud that.
“I’ve had a few battles with her. I’m happy today that I was focused from the beginning and was able to play such good tennis, put so much pressure on her and win in straight sets. It’s really great.”
Sabalenka will face Jessica Pegula or Marta Kosteyuk in Sunday’s final.
She won all eight sets she entered and dropped just 20 games in four matches.
“I’m playing better and better,” she said. “It’s important to go to Melbourne to build on that level and have some great games against great opposition. So I’m really pleased with the performance so far and can’t wait to play my last game here.”
