BRISBANE: Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka outclassed Karolina Muchova to seal a 6-3, 6-4 win at the Brisbane International on Saturday and reach the final of the Australian Open tune-up tournament for the third straight year.

In Sunday’s title clash, the Belarusian will face Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk, who cruised past world number six Jessica Pegula 6-0, 6-3 for her third straight top-10 win after also defeating Amanda Anisimova and Mirra Andreeva in her last two rounds.

Former world number one Daniil Med­vedev will take on unseeded American Brandon Nakashima in the men’s final.

World number one Sabalenka has been in similarly superb form in her first tournament of the season, and arrived for her match against Muchova having defeated reigning Melbourne Park champion Madison Keys in straight sets in the quarter-finals.

See looked in great touch against the tricky Czech, who had won their last three meetings and went into the match as one of the few players with a winning record over the Belarusian.

But Sabalenka showed her class and power as she broke Muchova once in each set to take the semi-final in 89 minutes.

The 27-year-old Belarusian, aiming to win a third Australian Open in four years, said she could feel her level getting better with every match in Brisbane, where she is yet to drop a set.

She said that with seven of the world’s top 10 having entered, it was ideal preparation for the Australian Open, which begins in Melbourne on January 18.

“I definitely feel that compared to the first match here, I’m playing better and better,” she said. “That’s really important heading to Melbourne, to build that level, and to play some great matches against great opponents. So I’m super happy with the performance so far and cannot wait to play my final match here.”

Kostyuk, who entered the week ranked 26th in the world, swept past Pegula in just 55 minutes in a stunning display of power and aggression.

Kostyuk has never beaten Sabalenka in four previous meetings but said the pressure was all on her opponent.

“The pressure is not on me — I want to go out there and put on a good show for the crowd,” she said. “I really have nothing to lose.”

Three Americans were in action in the Brisbane men’s event semi-finals, where Nakashima beat Aleksandar Kovacevic 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 before their compatriot Alex Michelsen went down 6-4, 6-2 to top seed Medvedev of Russia.

In the Auckland Classic, Filipina Alexandra Eala squandered a match point to allow China’s Wang Xinyu to secure a 5-7, 7-5, 6-4 win. Up next for Wang is Elina Svitolina, who beat Iva Jovic 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 in the second semi-final.

Top seed Lorenzo Musetti reached the final of the Hong Kong Open, beating Andrey Rublev 6-7 (3/7), 7-5, 6-4 in a last-four clash. Alexander Bublik beat Marcos Giron 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the second semi-final, setting up a title clash with Musetti.

Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2026