Aryna Sabalenka reaches Brisbane International final

Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka defeated Karolina Muchová 6-3, 6-4 Saturday to advance to the Brisbane International final.

Sabalenka, the defending Brisbane champion, clinched the semifinal at Pat Rafter Arena on her fourth match point to advance to Sunday`s final against the winner of a later semifinal between fourth-seeded Jessica Pegula and Marta Kostyuk.

On Friday, in a rematch of last year`s Australian Open final, Sabalenka broke Madison Keys` in five straight service games on the way to a 6-3, 6-3 win. Last year at Melbourne Park, Keys beat Sabalenka for her first Grand Slam singles title.

The Brisbane International is a tuneup event for this year`s Australian Open, which begins Jan. 18.

In the men`s tournament at Brisbane, top-seeded Daniil Medvedev will play Alex Michelsen of the United States in a later semifinal.

Two Americans feature in the other semi, with Aleksandar Kovacevic playing Brandon Nakashima.

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