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Pavlyuchenkova capable of defeating Sabalenka to reach 2025 Australian Open semis — expert

Andrey Olkhovsky noted that Aryna Sabalenka is undoubtably the favorite in the upcoming match

MOSCOW, January 20. /TASS/. Russian tennis player Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova is capable of defeating World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinals of the 2025 Australian Open if she takes the game to her Belarusian opponent, and not the other way around, Andrey Olkhovsky, winner of two Grand Slam tournaments in mixed doubles, told TASS on Monday.

On January 21, Pavlyuchenkova will take the court in Melbourne against Sabalenka, with the winner moving on to the final four of this year’s opening Grand Slam tournament.

"Beating Sabalenka won't be easy, as her mix of power and speed is tough to deal with," Olkhovsky said. "But Ana has an attacking style and plays quite aggressively, so she can certainly set the pace against Sabalenka."

"No doubt Sabalenka is the favorite [in the upcoming match], but we want to wish Pavlyuchenkova good luck. We will be rooting for her," he added.

On Sunday, Sabalenka, the reigning champion at the Australian Open, knocked out another Russian tennis player, teen Mirra Andreeva, from the tournament in straight sets 6-1; 6-2.

"It's always tough matches against Mirra; she's so young but so mature and playing such great tennis," the WTA official website quoted Sabalenka as saying during her post-match conference. "I'm super happy to get through this difficult match in straight sets."

In her Round 4 match, Russia’s Pavlyuchenkova also needed only two sets to take down her opponent, 18th-seeded Donna Vekic from Croatia, 7-6; 6-0.

In the other quarterfinals matches, Coco Gauff of the United States will play against Spain’s Paula Badosa; American Madison Keys will face off against Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina and 8th-seeded Emma Navarro of the United States will take on 2nd-seeded Iga Swiatek from Poland.

Pavlyuchenkova, 33, is the world’s 32nd-ranked player, according to the WTA. She has 12 career WTA titles. Her best result at Grand Slams was in 2021 when she reached the final of the French Open.

The Russian, who is playing internationally under a neutral status, also won a gold medal at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo in mixed doubles (with teammate Andrey Rublev), as well as the 2021 Billie Jean King Cup as part of the Russian national team.

The 2025 Australian Open tournament is being played on hard courts at Melbourne Park on January 12-26 and has a purse of $59.7 million in prize money up for grabs. The season’s first Grand Slam, this year marks the 113th edition of the tournament. Italy’s Jannik Sinner and Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka are the reigning Australian Open champions in men’s and women’s singles, respectively.

Russian players’ neutral status at tennis tournaments

On February 28, 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued recommendations to international sports federations to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from taking part in international tournaments, citing Moscow's special military operation in Ukraine as the reason.

Following the IOC's recommendations in late February 2022, the majority of global sports federations decided to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from all international sports tournaments.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) ruled on March 1, 2022 to suspend the membership of the Russian and Belarusian national tennis federations while also canceling all previously scheduled tennis tournaments in the two countries.

On March 14, 2022, the ITF also confirmed its prohibition on the Russian and Belarusian national tennis teams from taking part in the 2022 Davis Cup and 2022 Billie Jean King Cup.

However, the Women Tennis Association (WTA) and the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) allowed tennis players from Russia and Belarus to continue participating in WTA and ATP tournaments, but only under a neutral status.

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