Ranked 34th in the world, Donna Vekic has defeated 2018 runner-up Aliaksandra Sasnovich to secure a spot in the prestigious Brisbane International semifinals. The 22-year-old tennis sensation from Croatia triumphed with a score of 6-2 6-0 on Friday at Pat Rafter Arena, swiftly overpowering top seed Elina Svitolina’s conqueror in under an hour, sparking excitement in the sports world with her remarkable performance.
Vekic took an early commanding lead of 4-0 in the first set, demonstrating dominance, and displayed even more aggression in the second set, only dropping a few points during her impressive comeback, clinching the set in just 26 minutes. Sasnovich, who recently defeated world No. 4 Svitolina in three sets, struggled in the second set when she was unable to score a point on her initial serve. Vekic acclaimed, “I think today was probably one of the perfect matches I’ve ever played in my career.”
“Everything was going well for me. I was trying to be aggressive, play my game, and not allow her to take control. I saw her match against Svitolina and knew it would be tough,” Vekic added.
Vekic will face the winner of Ajla Tomljanovic and fifth seed Karolina Pliskova in the semifinals. Her journey in Brisbane, including a second-round victory over sixth seed Kiki Bertens, marks a significant improvement from her 2017 performance where she suffered early defeats. After defeating Magdalena Rybarikova, Vekic joins US Open champion Naomi Osaka and 27th-ranked Lesia Tsurenko in the final four.
