Aryna Sabalenka fights off Coco Gauff in Australian Open semifinal

That would be Aryna Sabalenka, the No. 2 player in the world and the defending Australian Open champion who lost to Gauff in the 2023 U.S. Open final but who won this time, 7-6 (7-2), 6-4, with her service resolved of leaks, her usual winners that double as annihilations, her power forcing the staccato points that favored her, and her mind shooing the goblins that long have circled her late-round appearances. Then she laughed during her post-match news conference as she spoke of the strain of defending a title and told reporters in Melbourne, “Worst case, you’re going to lose it, [and] next year, nothing to defend.”

She kept that bit of lightness around well enough to win a semifinal that felt like a final, share a respectful hug with Gauff and reach a final opposite onrushing 21-year-old Zheng Qinwen, ranked No. 15 in the world. Zheng grew up inspired by Li Na, the two-time major winner and 2014 Australian Open champion, and then 10 years on Zheng became the first Chinese player since Li to reach a major final with a 6-4, 6-4 besting of Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska, whose remarkable run with a ranking of No. 93 had boasted eight wins, three in qualifying and five in the main draw. If Sabalenka handles Saturday’s final without dipping too deeply into her human penchant for suffering prosperity, she’ll become the first repeat Australian Open women’s singles winner since fellow Belarusian Victoria Azarenka in 2012 and 2013.

“It’s not like I’m ignoring the pressure,” Sabalenka said. “I’m just shifting my focus.”

That little knack right there helped close out the heady 18 major tournaments of the teen years of Gauff, which ended up at one title, one other final, one other semifinal and three other quarterfinals with age 20 still not due until March. “I tend to be hard on myself,” the Floridian told reporters in her news conference, “so I feel like today I was like, ‘Dang.’ But I think looking back overall at this stage of my life it was obviously a successful time. I saw a stat that I think I’m up there with Serena [Williams] and [Jennifer] Capriati with wins at Slams [as a teenager]. I saw that and it made me feel — I don’t know, I just feel like I look at the glass half-empty so I’m like, negative, and then I looked at that stats and I’m like, ‘They had great careers, so I’m in the right direction,’ so I just have to remind myself of the journey and not so much of the moment.”

Sally Jenkins in September: Coco…