The first-set tie-break said it all – Magda Linette lost it 7-1 and she had not done anything wrong. Until then it was toe to toe and anyone’s guess who would leave Rod Laver Arena with an appointment to see Elena Rybakinaon Saturday.
Aryna Sabalenka generally does not shift through the gears, mainly because she starts at full throttle and keeps her foot down for the entire match. But there was another, supersonic something or other she had kept in her back pocket for Thursday’s semi-final.
