BRISBANE – Aryna Sabalenka, the world’s top-ranked tennis player, has once again secured her place in the Brisbane International final, marking her third consecutive appearance. On Saturday, she triumphed over Karolina Muchová with a scoreline of 6-3, 6-4.

In a thrilling semifinal face-off at the Pat Rafter Arena, Sabalenka clinched her victory on her fourth match point. She is now set to compete against Marta Kostyuk in Sunday’s final. Kostyuk earned her spot by defeating fourth-seeded Jessica Pegula with a commanding 6-0, 6-3 win.

Kostyuk’s victory marks her third consecutive win against a top-10 ranked player, a remarkable feat considering her track record against Pegula was just one win in five previous encounters.

In an exciting match on Friday, Sabalenka faced Madison Keys, in a repeat of last year’s Australian Open final. Sabalenka dominated, breaking Keys’ serve in five consecutive games to secure a 6-3, 6-3 victory. This was a reversal of their Melbourne Park encounter where Keys claimed her first Grand Slam singles title.

The Brisbane International serves as a key preparation event for the Australian Open, which is set to commence on January 18.

Although three match points slipped away amid a late flurry of pressure from the Czech player, Sabalenka sealed victory when a Muchová shot sailed long.

“I always try to stay in the present,” Sabalenka said. “I worked really hard and each match against her is just another opportunity to get the win and I’m super happy that today was the day when I was able to get the win. She is such a great player and I always enjoy battles against her.”

With 32 winners and all four break points saved, Sabalenka will look to carry that momentum into her 13th WTA 500-level final on Sunday.

In the men’s tournament at Brisbane, Brandon Nakashima beat Aleksandar Kovacevic 7-6 (4), 6-4 in an all-American semifinal. Nakashima will play the winner of the later semifinal between top-seeded Daniil Medvedev and American Alex Michelsen in Sunday’s final.

It will be Nakashima’s first ATP Tour final in four years. The 24-year-old American has not lost a set this week.

“We’re really good friends,” Nakashmia said of Kovacevic. “We have been practicing a lot the last month or so and it’s great to see him playing well at these kind of tournaments. It was a super tough match, right from the beginning.”

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis