Aryna Sabalenka defeats Coco Gauff to reach Australian Open final

Sabalenka avenges US Open loss to reach second consecutive Australian Open final

Sabalenka is now one win away from defending her Australian Open title

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Aryna Sabalenka avenged her US Open final loss to Coco Gauff by defeating the American teenager in the semifinals of the Australian Open on Thursday.

The second-seeded Sabalenka won 6-3, 6-2 in 1 hour, 33 minutes to reach her second consecutive Australian Open final. She will face the winner of the other semifinal between Elena Rybakina and Victoria Azarenka.

Sabalenka is now one win away from defending her Australian Open title, which she won last year by defeating Rybakina in the final.

The Belarusian has been in impressive form throughout the tournament, dropping just one set in her four matches.

Gauff, who was playing in her first Australian Open semifinal, was unable to match Sabalenka's power and consistency.

The American teenager had a chance to break Sabalenka's serve in the first game of the match, but she was unable to convert.

Sabalenka then broke Gauff's serve in the fourth game and held on to her serve for the rest of the set.

The second set was a similar story, with Sabalenka breaking Gauff's serve twice to take a 4-0 lead.

Gauff broke back in the fifth game, but Sabalenka broke her serve again in the seventh game to close out the match.

Sabalenka will now be the heavy favorite to win the Australian Open title and become the first woman since Serena Williams in 2015 to successfully defend her title.