Shades of her Melbourne run? Aryna Sabalenka dominates Iga ...

On her 10th match point, the No. 3 seed powered her way to a 6-3, 6-3 victory in Sunday's semifinals.

After the towels came back out for another on-court drying, Sabalenka held with her 18th winner. Reaching the finish line then became a dicey proposition.

Swiatek impressively saved seven match points in a 12-minute game that began with a 0-40 deficit to reach 2-5. Tension increased when Sabalenka attempted to serve it out. Though she recovered from a 15-40 position, two more match points went unclaimed. Her first double fault of the contest ultimately handed Swiatek one of the breaks back.

“That was the toughest moment of match. I just kept telling myself, ‘she’s world No. 1, she’s gonna keep fighting, trying her best,’“ she said. “You got to stay aggressive, put her under pressure, play your tennis, trust your instincts and just go for it. That’s my mentality in those tough moments.”

The four-time major winner had a chance to force Sabalenka to serve for it again, but watched a match-ending return winner fly by. Sabalenka improved to 4-8 in their series, avenging earlier 2024 defeats n consecutive clay-court finals at Madrid (where she held three championship points) and Rome thanks to a 24 for 30 success rate against Swiatek's second serve.

Set to return to No. 2 in the rankings next week, Sabalenka will look to clinch the trophy without dropping a set come Monday—a feat she accomplished at the season's first Grand Slam event. Sabalenka awaits the winner of Toronto champion Jessica Pegula and Washington, D.C. titlist Paula Badosa.