World number one Sabalenka saved five breakpoints to edge a tight opening set against her 17-year-old Russian opponent, who had stunned the then ailing Belarusian in the French Open quarter-finals seven months ago.<\/p>\n
Fit and firing on all cylinders in her opening tournament of the new season, Sabalenka shifted gears in the second set for an early break and eased through to book a meeting with Russian Polina Kudermetova in Sunday\u2019s final.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s always the same tactic for me, to stay aggressive and put my opponents under pressure,\u201d said Sabalenka, runner-up at the tournament last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was glad I was able to do that against Mirra. It seemed like everything was working really well. She\u2019s an amazing player and I\u2019m pretty sure she\u2019s going to be in the top 10 very soon. I\u2019m happy to get this win.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 21-year-old Kudermetova earlier swept aside Ukraine\u2019s Anhelina Kalinina 6-4 6-3 to continue her stellar run from the qualifying competition.<\/p>\n
DIMITROV OUT<\/strong><\/p>\n Grigor Dimitrov\u2019s title defence in the men\u2019s event ended when the Bulgarian retired with injury while trailing 6-4 4-4 against Czech Jiri Lehecka on Pat Rafter Arena.<\/p>\n Reilly Opelka followed up his stunning victory over Novak Djokovic by beating Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 6-3 7-6(4) in a battle of big servers.<\/p>\n The 6-foot 11-inch (2.11m) American has had a torrid time with injuries in the previous two seasons and he shrugged off a wrist issue in the opening set before edging a tiebreak in the next to reach his first final in three years.<\/p>\n In another tune-up event ahead of the Jan. 12-26 Australian Open, four-times Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka defeated Alycia Parks 6-4 6-2 to reach the Auckland Classic final where she will take on Denmark\u2019s Clara Tauson on Sunday.<\/p>\n Osaka, who returned to the WTA Tour 12 months ago after a lengthy maternity break, is targeting her first trophy since her Melbourne Park triumph four years ago.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s definitely really important,\u201d Osaka said.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m happy to get through to the final. I\u2019ve actually never gotten to the final of the tournament the week before Melbourne. This is a first for me.\u201d<\/p>\n The 27-year-old was beaten by Iga Swiatek in her last final at the Miami Open in 2022 and can expect another tough test.<\/p>\n Tauson earlier overcame American Robin Montgomery 6-4 6-3 after stunning top seed Madison Keys 6-4 7-6(7) in a rain-hit match that was carried over from Friday.<\/p>\n –Reuters–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":12084,"template":"default||default||default||default||default||default||default||default","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[],"class_list":["post-12083","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Aryna Sabalenka powered into the Brisbane International final with a 6-3 6-2 victory over teenager Mirra Andreeva this Saturday, taking a step closer to a first trophy of the year before her Australian Open title defence begins later this month.||Aryna Sabalenka powered into the Brisbane International final with a 6-3 6-2 victory over teenager Mirra Andreeva this Saturday, taking a step closer to a first trophy of the year before her Australian Open title defence begins later this month.||Aryna Sabalenka powered into the Brisbane International final with a 6-3 6-2 victory over teenager Mirra Andreeva this Saturday, taking a step closer to a first trophy of the year before her Australian Open title defence begins later this month.||Aryna Sabalenka powered into the Brisbane International final with a 6-3 6-2 victory over teenager Mirra Andreeva this Saturday, taking a step closer to a first trophy of the year before her Australian Open title defence begins later this month.||Aryna Sabalenka powered into the Brisbane International final with a 6-3 6-2 victory over teenager Mirra Andreeva this Saturday, taking a step closer to a first trophy of the year before her Australian Open title defence begins later this month.||Aryna Sabalenka powered into the Brisbane International final with a 6-3 6-2 victory over teenager Mirra Andreeva this Saturday, taking a step closer to a first trophy of the year before her Australian Open title defence begins later this month.||Aryna Sabalenka powered into the Brisbane International final with a 6-3 6-2 victory over teenager Mirra Andreeva this Saturday, taking a step closer to a first trophy of the year before her Australian Open title defence begins later this month.||Aryna Sabalenka powered into the Brisbane International final with a 6-3 6-2 victory over teenager Mirra Andreeva this Saturday, taking a step closer to a first trophy of the year before her Australian Open title defence begins later this month.","published_date":null,"news_description":"Aryna Sabalenka powered into the Brisbane International final with a 6-3 6-2 victory over teenager Mirra Andreeva this Saturday, taking a step closer to a first trophy of the year before her Australian Open title defence begins later this month.||Aryna Sabalenka powered into the Brisbane International final with a 6-3 6-2 victory over teenager Mirra Andreeva this Saturday, taking a step closer to a first trophy of the year before her Australian Open title defence begins later this month.||Aryna Sabalenka powered into the Brisbane International final with a 6-3 6-2 victory over teenager Mirra Andreeva this Saturday, taking a step closer to a first trophy of the year before her Australian Open title defence begins later this month.||Aryna Sabalenka powered into the Brisbane International final with a 6-3 6-2 victory over teenager Mirra Andreeva this Saturday, taking a step closer to a first trophy of the year before her Australian Open title defence begins later this month.||Aryna Sabalenka powered into the Brisbane International final with a 6-3 6-2 victory over teenager Mirra Andreeva this Saturday, taking a step closer to a first trophy of the year before her Australian Open title defence begins later this month.||Aryna Sabalenka powered into the Brisbane International final with a 6-3 6-2 victory over teenager Mirra Andreeva this Saturday, taking a step closer to a first trophy of the year before her Australian Open title defence begins later this month.||Aryna Sabalenka powered into the Brisbane International final with a 6-3 6-2 victory over teenager Mirra Andreeva this Saturday, taking a step closer to a first trophy of the year before her Australian Open title defence begins later this month.||Aryna Sabalenka powered into the Brisbane International final with a 6-3 6-2 victory over teenager Mirra Andreeva this Saturday, taking a step closer to a first trophy of the year before her Australian Open title defence begins later this 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