Aryna Sabalenka to face Elena Rybakina in Indian Wells final after duo win semi-finals

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sabalenka-aryna/vyhksgUB/"]Sabalenka[/a] beat 14th-ranked Czech [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/noskova-linda/zHMiAkw6/"]Noskova[/a] [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/noskova-l-zHMiAkw6/sabalenka-a-vyhksgUB/?mid=CKrWRxM0"]6-3, 6-4[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/rybakina-elena/UDzElXdm/"]Rybakina[/a] downed Ukraine's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/monfils-elina/jyngIesG/"]Elina Svitolina[/a] [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/rybakina-e-UDzElXdm/svitolina-e-jyngIesG/?mid=84LSngGG"]7-5, 6-4[/a] to set up a mouth-watering rematch of their Melbourne final.[/p][p]Rybakina also beat Sabalenka in the 2023 championship match in Indian Wells - where the Belarusian star has come up empty in two prior trips to the final.[/p][p][b]"I want that match,"[/b] said Sabalenka, who has been in imperious form in the California desert this year.[/p][p]She fired 37 winners, with 11 aces, applying relentless pressure from the baseline in a commanding win over Noskova.[/p][embed guid="fb353b8c-ac1b-4c85-94a1-43c52e92baee" url="https://x.com/WTA/status/2032619573397045336?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]She broke the big-serving Czech twice as she powered to a 5-1 lead in the opening set.[/p][p]There was a hiccup as she tried to serve out the set and Sabalenka, who had lost just one point in her first three service games, was broken.[/p][p]Noskova kept the set alive with a battling hold in a marathon eighth game, fending off a set point with a service winner and sealing the game with an ace.[/p][p]Serving for the set again, Sabalenka opened with a double fault and went down 0-30, but a pair of big serves and a backhand winner brought her to set point and she claimed it with an ace.[/p][p]Sabalenka broke Noskova to open the second and was on her way. Noskova fended off a second break, but she was unable to convert a break opportunity in the eighth game as Sabalenka brought it home, capping the victory with a forehand winner on her third match point.[/p][p]"[b]I think I really played great tennis,[/b]" Sabalenka said. "[b]I was serving well. I was playing well. I like the way I put her under pressure on her serve.[/b]"[/p][p]Rybakina, who is set to rise one spot to number two in the world on Monday, had too much firepower for ninth-ranked Svitolina, who was coming off a three-set win over two-time champion [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/swiatek-iga/jNyZsXZe/"]Iga Swiatek[/a] in the quarter-finals.[/p][p]Rybakina recouped an early break in a tight first set and seized control with a break for 6-5, her steady pressure on Svitolina's serve provoking too many mistakes from the Ukrainian.[/p][embed guid="658e106c-fb02-4f94-8052-fa883a292daf" url="https://x.com/WTA/status/2032654958550467026?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][h2]Top-10 streak[/h2][p]Rybakina won seven straight games from 4-5 down in the first, breaking Svitolina twice on the way to a 4-0 lead in the second set.[/p][p]The experienced Svitolina made her keep grinding, saving a match point on her own serve then saving another on the way to a break for 5-3 as she won three straight games.[/p][p]But Rybakina made no mistake as she served for the match a second time, nabbing her 12th straight victory over top-10 opponents.[/p][p][b]"Not, maybe, my best performance, but I'm super happy to win this match and be in the final again,"[/b] Rybakina said.[/p][p]Although she trails Sabalenka 8-7 in their career head-to-head, she has won their last two meetings, in the title match of last year's WTA Finals and at the Australian Open - were she claimed her second Grand Slam crown.[/p][p]Despite those recent successes Rybakina was expecting a battle on Sunday.[/p][p][b]"We played so many times, and I think it all depends on close moments, which we usually have - whoever steps in, plays more aggressive, more solid,"[/b] Rybakina said. [b]"It's going to be a difficult match.[/b][/p][p][b]"We're both going to try to serve well, that's for sure, put pressure... we will see what's going to happen."[/b][/p]