Elena Rybakina reaches Australian Open women's singles final after beating Victoria Azarenka

Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina advanced to her second major final, defeating former No.1 Victoria Azarenka 7-6(4), 6-3 on Thursday in the Australian Open semifinals. Seeded No.22 in Melbourne, Rybakina will face No.5 Aryna Sabalenka in Saturday's championship, according to media reports.

Playing in her first Australian Open semifinal, Rybakina faced a major champion for the third straight match. Rybakina, 23, notched wins over last year's finalist, Danielle Collins, World No.1 Iga Swiatek, 2019 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko and two-time Australian Open champion Azarenka. 

The Kazakh is guaranteed to make her Top 10 debut after the Australian Open, following Magda Linette's loss in the second semifinal.

Rybakina won her only prior meeting with Azarenka, a straight-sets win at Indian Wells last year.