Aryna Sabalenka says it is "trophy or nothing" after brushing aside teenage star Iva Jovic to reach the Australian Open semi-finals.
Aryna Sabalenka says her mentality is "trophy or nothing" as she maintained her pursuit of a third Australian Open title in four years with a dominant quarter-final victory over teenager Iva Jovic.
World number one Sabalenka overpowered rising American star Jovic 6-3 6-0 and awaits either third seed Coco Gauff or Ukraine's Elina Svitolina in the semi-finals.
The 27-year-old Belarusian, a four-time major singles champion, has made the semi-final stage at 14 of the last 17 majors she has contested.
Sabalenka is only the third women's player to reach eight consecutive singles semi-finals at Grand Slams in the past 38 years, after Lindsay Davenport and Martina Hingis.
"I think that it's unbelievable what I was able to achieve," said Sabalenka.
"What's really helping me to be there all the time is the focus that I'm having.
"Focusing on the right things definitely helps a lot with the consistency."
Sabalenka has reached this year's semi-finals in Melbourne without dropping a set, taking her winning streak at the start of 2026 to 10 matches and 20 consecutive sets.
Having lost two Grand Slam finals last year - first in Melbourne and then at the French Open - Sabalenka defended her US Open crown in September and is the heavy favourite to regain her Australian Open title.
Sabalenka, who has won 19 of her 22 career titles on hard courts, said: "I think every player, when they get to the tournament, is trophy or nothing.
"The mentality is the same, and it's always in the back of your mind that obviously you want to win it.
"But I'm trying to shift my focus on the right things and just trying my best in each match, each point, each game, each set. That's my mentality."
It was the second consecutive round in which Sabalenka faced a teenage opponent, having previously beaten 19-year-old Canadian Victoria Mboko.
"These teenagers were testing me in the last couple rounds. Don't look at the score. It wasn't easy at all," she said.
Sabalenka's quarter-final against the 18-year-old Jovic was played in intense heat exceeding 40C, with the Australian Open's heat stress scale hitting the cut-off mark shortly after the conclusion of their match.
The roof was closed on Rod Laver Arena as Sabalenka conducted her post-match interview and will stay shut for the day's remaining matches
Jovic described Sabalenka, who has worked on controlling her emotions on-court to achieve consistency at the sport's biggest tournaments, as "very inspiring".
"I think the way she's been able to use all the negative things that have happened to her and turned them into motivation and fuel to be better is amazing," Jovic said.
Category: General Sports
