Sabalenka ecstatic after sailing into semi-finals with Vekic win: "I don't know why but here it feels very special"

Aryna Sabalenka was in a great mood after booking the Australian Open semi-final with a win over Donna Vekic, her second consecutive semi-final at a major.

Sabalenka played in the US Open semi-final as well and this is her second in a row. She's played in a few grand slam semi-finals so it's nothing new to her but it feels different. She's looking very comfortable and sailing through the rounds with superb play making it feel very special to her. She admitted it after the match:

but here it feels very special to be in the semi-finals. It was a tough match. I'm super happy with the win and it was so great to play here today. The atmosphere was unbelievable. I'm glad that I didn't think about being 1-5 down [in the head-to-head record against Vekic], but now it's 2-5 and it's three more to go."

She praised Vekic as a player:

"She's a great player and it's always tough to play against her. I think I was calm and expected this kind of game from her so I was able to stay in the game no matter what. I think that was the key."