Ashleigh Barty set to face rising star Aryna Sabalenka in Madrid Open final

Aryna Sabalenka set up a rematch with top seed Ashleigh Barty after surging into the final of the Mutua Madrid Open.

The Belarusian, who is yet to drop a set in the tournament, beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-2, 6-3 to book her place in her third tour final of the year.

Two weeks ago Sabalenka lost to Barty in the Stuttgart final and has a chance of immediate revenge after Barty beat Paula Badosa 6-4, 6-3 in the other semi-final.

Revenge was key for Barty who was playing the only opponent who has beaten her since she returned to the tour following the first coronavirus surge in February.

Barty was a different proposition to the player beaten by Badosa in Charleston and dominated the match by hitting 30 winners to 23 unforced errors.

Barty told wtatour.com: “You have to learn from every game, every match you play against an opponent. I definitely learnt a lot from the match we played in Charleston. There was a small adjustment.”

At the Saint-Malo Open, there were wins for Harmony Tan, Viktorija Golubic, Varvara Gracheva and Jasmine Paolini.

Follow us on Twitter @T365Official and like our Facebook page.