Aryna Sabalenka est en finale de l'Open d'Australie après avoir battue en demies Coco Gauff ! Les demi-finales du tableau féminin de l'Open d'Australie ont eu lieu ce jeudi. Si la deuxième affiche était pour le moins surprenante, la rencontre qui ouvrait le bal était facile à prévoir. Les deux principales têtes de série - Coco Gauff et Aryna Sabalenka - s'affrontaient. Dans une demi-finale au parfum de finale, c'est la Biélorusse, tenante du titre, qui a filé en finale et qui aura l'occasion de faire le doublé samedi, après son sacre en 2023. La deuxième demi-finale était cette fois plus difficile à prévoir. Alors qu'on attendait Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina ou encore Jessica Pegula, c'est bien la Chinoise Qinwen Zheng qui a tiré son épingle du jeu en mettant fin au parcours de la qualifiée, Dayana Yastremska. Zheng affrontera donc Sabalenka en finale et fera son entrée dans le Top 10 à l'issue du tournoi.
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00:00 (upbeat music)
00:03 - Yeah, it was incredible match.
00:05 She's a great player, always tough battles against her.
00:07 And I think the key was that I was able to stay focused
00:12 no matter what, no matter what the score was.
00:15 I was just keep trying my best, keep fighting for it.
00:18 And of course I'm super happy to be in the,
00:21 in another final of the Grand Slam.
00:23 And hopefully I can do a little bit better
00:25 than I did last time.
00:27 - Okay, who would like the first question?
00:28 John?
00:29 - What was the difference?
00:31 - Where is it?
00:32 I can see, okay.
00:33 - Congratulations.
00:35 - Thank you.
00:35 - What was the difference between today
00:37 and in New York last year?
00:40 - Yeah, well, I think in New York,
00:43 I played a little bit passive tennis
00:45 and I didn't put so much pressure on her.
00:48 I mean, I did in the first set,
00:49 but then I kind of like slow down
00:52 and start just trying to play rallies with her,
00:56 which is not working well.
00:57 And the whole preseason I was working on
00:59 on those approach shots on coming to the net
01:03 and finish the point on the net.
01:05 So, and I'm super happy that I was able to do that
01:10 on court today.
01:11 And it's really, I think that's the difference
01:16 between these two matches.
01:17 - Okay, over here and then Matt and Ben.
01:20 - In the first set you led five-two,
01:22 she was able to fight back and serve
01:24 for the first set at six-five.
01:25 How did you maintain your composure
01:27 to end up winning that first set?
01:30 - Well, I honestly, in my head,
01:33 I just let that set go.
01:34 I was just like, okay,
01:35 are we going to fight for another one?
01:37 And yeah, and still no matter what,
01:40 that's what I meant when I said,
01:42 like, no matter what the score was,
01:44 I was just trying to do my best and fighting for it.
01:47 And even when the score was six-five,
01:50 30-0 after her serve, I was just like,
01:51 okay, I'm going to do my best,
01:52 try to stay in this set and try to fight for this set.
01:55 - Okay, Matt.
01:56 - Hi, Reina, congratulations.
02:00 Is it hard to play someone when the last memory
02:04 is not so good and you're once again
02:08 in a really big stadium on a big stage like that?
02:11 - Well, I wouldn't say that last memory
02:13 like was like a bad memory, you know?
02:16 We played the final of the Grand Slam.
02:20 Yeah, I had chances, but she won that one.
02:22 But anyway, I wouldn't say that the memory
02:24 is really bad from the last match we played.
02:27 I mean, I lost that one,
02:28 but it's just an extra motivation for me.
02:30 - That's the answer.
02:32 - Yes.
02:33 (laughing)
02:34 - We've got Ben and then this lady here
02:35 and then Ellen open.
02:37 - Hi, Reina.
02:38 People talk a lot about defending a title when you're here.
02:40 And obviously for most players, they don't come close
02:43 the next time they come at this tournament here.
02:45 But I'm wondering your first time defending
02:47 at a Grand Slam, what this experience has been like
02:49 and how proud are you of making it to the final again?
02:54 - Well, of course that's tough,
02:56 but worst case, you're gonna lose it next year.
02:59 Nothing to defend.
03:00 (laughing)
03:01 So I'm kind of like, I don't know.
03:06 Not like I'm ignoring the pressure.
03:10 I'm just shifting my focus and it's working well so far
03:14 and it's one more to go and I'll do my best.
03:17 - This lady here.
03:19 - You're into your third major final, congratulations.
03:22 What advantages will you see when you look across the net
03:25 at a first time finalist?
03:26 - I would say emotionally I'll be,
03:33 I don't know, like ready to fight and not going crazy
03:40 because when you play first final,
03:41 you kind of like get emotional
03:43 and like you rush and think sometimes.
03:44 And when you're like in the third time in the finals,
03:47 you're like, okay, it's a final, it's okay,
03:50 but it's just another match.
03:52 And you're able to separate yourself from that thing
03:55 and just focus on your game.
03:58 That's it actually.
03:59 - Yeah, Rina, are you as calm on the inside
04:03 as you appear to be on the outside these two weeks
04:06 and how much does experience help
04:09 when you get to the latter stages of these tournaments?
04:12 - Yeah, I think I'm pretty calm inside
04:15 that I'm outside, like you said.
04:16 And as I said before, it's, yeah,
04:21 I'm defending champion, but worst case,
04:24 I'm like, okay, I'm gonna lose this tournament
04:27 and it's less points to defend next year and that's it.
04:31 And that's kind of like thinking helping me
04:33 to just stay focused and just try your best in each match
04:37 without thinking about defending something.
04:40 - Okay, John, then Courtney, and then over there.
04:42 Yeah, John.
04:43 - I know they're still playing now,
04:45 so it's hard to make proper assessments.
04:47 Both of your potential final rivals
04:49 bring different challenges,
04:51 different things from off the court.
04:53 Can you just talk through potential matchups
04:56 against both of the other semifinalists, please?
05:00 - Well, if it's just Shremska, we played a lot of matches.
05:02 She's a great player and she deserves to be in the finals.
05:06 She's really, she had this fight spirit.
05:10 She's always fighting for every point.
05:13 And the outside, I don't care about outside.
05:16 I don't know.
05:17 I feel like I know that she respect me as a player.
05:21 The rest, I don't care.
05:22 I'm there for playing tennis, not the rest.
05:26 And yeah, I'll be happy to have another great fight with her.
05:31 If it's Zhang, we played, I don't know,
05:36 I think we played once, but we practiced a lot.
05:39 And we actually practiced here before the tournament
05:41 and she's playing really great tennis.
05:43 And she's really nice girl
05:46 and really playing really great tennis once again.
05:48 And it's going to be great battle if I'm going to face her.
05:52 - Okay, we'll do three more in English.
05:54 Courtney, back up there and then finish with Ben.
05:56 Courtney.
05:57 - Congrats, Serena.
05:58 Speaking about potentially playing Zhang Xinwen,
06:01 yeah, you guys played in the quarterfinals at the US Open.
06:04 In terms of the ball that she hits
06:07 and what she brings to the table,
06:09 she'll be top 10 on Monday.
06:10 What is it that makes her maybe unique as a player?
06:16 - Well, I think her forehand is really heavy.
06:18 Yeah, and she's moving well,
06:23 also fighting for every point.
06:26 And yeah, I think her forehand is really,
06:29 I don't know, her,
06:33 yeah, her best shot, I would say forehand.
06:38 It's quite heavy.
06:39 And yeah, she played really great tennis,
06:43 putting her opponents under pressure.
06:46 Playing really aggressive tennis.
06:47 And I think that's why she's top,
06:49 she'll be top 10, right?
06:50 Okay, so that's why she's in top 10.
06:53 - Okay, up there.
06:54 - Yeah.
06:54 - Serena, congratulations.
06:56 You spoke after the match
06:58 how you barely had any support in the match before.
07:01 And today, obviously, people were supporting Coco.
07:04 Does it affect you mentally or it motivates you more
07:08 if people are against you?
07:10 - Well, it's actually motivate me a lot.
07:15 But at the US Open, they were crazy.
07:18 It's motivation, but sometimes, not sometimes,
07:21 but at some point it's getting really annoying
07:23 because they scream during the point.
07:24 And then I totally understand that.
07:26 It's absolutely normal.
07:27 They support their player.
07:29 But I don't know, going to this match today,
07:33 I kind of knew that probably people
07:36 will be supporting me more than her.
07:39 And it was really nice to feel that kind of support
07:43 like she had at the US Open.
07:45 So yeah, it was really enjoyable playing today.
07:48 - Last one in English, Ben.
07:50 - Just last thing to follow up on, if it is Jastrzemska,
07:52 it could be an unusual situation for a grand slam final.
07:55 There's no photos together, no handshake.
07:57 Are you just sort of prepared for it to sort of be different
08:00 if that's the case and not have it be distracting for you
08:03 to have the protocols be different?
08:05 - Well, I respect their choice.
08:11 I just respect their choice, you know?
08:15 And if it's help them, if it's something they need,
08:20 I'm happy with that.
08:21 I don't care.
08:23 It's a grand slam final, you know?
08:25 Like I'm gonna go there and do my best.
08:27 If it's Jastrzemska or Zhang, it doesn't matter.
08:30 It's about tennis.
08:31 It's not about something else, you know?
08:33 (upbeat music)