Sabalenka, ranked No. 3, trailed 4-2 in the second set before winning four games in a row. She had seven aces in the 79-minute match.
Serena Williams faces a dangerous opponent in her third-round match: fellow American Danielle Collins, who reached the quarterfinals in the tournament last September before losing to Sofia Kenin
No. 3-ranked Osaka pulled out of her Gippsland Trophy semifinal against Elise Mertens, citing a “niggling injury."
Former world No.1 Azarenka eased past Maria Sakkari 6-1, 6-3 on Saturday to book a spot in her 40th career WTA final.
The 10th-seeded Azarenka lost to 161st-ranked Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 6-2, 6-2.
The No. 10 seeded Azarenka fumed when match officials didn’t immediately send her and first-round opponent Danka Kovinic back to the locker-room during a rain interruption Sunday on the Suzanne Lenglen court.
The three now stand on the verge of becoming the fourth woman in Open Era to win a major hence joining the elite group of Margaret Court, Evonne Goolagong, and Clijsters.
The tournament announced Osaka's decision about 90 minutes before the championship match was supposed to begin in Louis Armstrong Stadium at the site of the U.S. Open.
The seven-time Grand Slam champion defeated Azarenka 6-3, 3-2 in a match that lasted for 80 minutes on Tuesday and extended her lead in their head-to-head rivalry to 6-2.
Top News
Latest News
