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Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka will lock horns with Zheng Qinwen in the women's singles final at the Australian Open on Saturday (January 27).
Sabalenka kicked off her quest for consecutive titles in Melbourne in ominous form as she steamrolled her first five opponents. Ella Seidel, Brenda Fruhvirtova, Lesia Tsurenko, Amanda Anisimova, and Barbora Krejcikova managed to win a total of just 16 games between them against the Belarusian.
Sabalenka's first real test of the tournament arrived in the form of Coco Gauff in the semifinals. But the 25-year-old survived a tough challenge from the teenager to score a 7-6 (2), 6-4 victory.
Sabalenka is now on a 13-match winning streak at the Australian Open. She's also gunning to be the first player to defend their maiden Grand Slam title since compatriot Victoria Azarenka did the same in Melbourne back in 2013.
Touted as one of the players to look out for since a couple of years, Zheng has announced her arrival on the big stage in style. Down a set to Ashlyn Kreuger in the first round, she stormed back to score a 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 win.
Zheng dealt with Katie Boulter in straight sets, but was pushed to the brink by her countrywoman Wang Yafan next. She sneaked past her in the deciding set tie-break, after which she scored a dominant 6-0, 6-3 win over Oceane Dodin.
Zheng rallied from a set down to defeat Anna Kalinskaya in the quarterfinals and made it to her maiden Major semifinal. Up against Dayana Yastremska for a spot in the championship round, the 21-year-old scored a 6-4, 6-4 win.
Zheng has now reached her very first Grand Slam final, which is likely to be the first of many. Her showdown against the in-form Sabalenka is guaranteed to be a cracker of a match given their shotmaking abilities.
With that in mind, here's a look at the details regarding their upcoming final:
Aryna Sabalenka vs Zheng Qinwen match schedule
The two will fight it out for the women's singles title on Saturday, January 27 and are up first in the night session on Rod Laver Arena.
Date: January 27, 2024.
Time: 7:30 p.m. local time, 2:00 p.m. IST, 8:30 a.m. GMT and 3:30 a.m. ET.
Aryna Sabalenka vs Zheng Qinwen streaming details
Viewers can watch Aryna Sabalenka and Zheng Qinwen go toe-to-toe live on the following channels and sites:
USA - ESPN, Tennis Channel
Canada - TSN, RDS
Australia - Nine Network, Stan Sport
New Zealand - Sky
Europe - Eurosport
Latin America, Caribbean - ESPN International
India & Subcontinent - Sony Sports Network
Middle East & North Africa - beIN Sports
Sub-saharan Africa - SuperSport
Japan - WOWOW
China - CCTV Sport, iQIYI, Greatsports Media, Guangdong TV
Southeast Asia - beIN Sports
South Korea - CJ Media
Taiwan - Sportcast
American Samoa - ESPN, Tennis Channel, Digicel
Pacific Islands - Digicel
