Linette keeps getting better; into Australian Open semis Medvedev beats Murray in final to win Doha on debut No 1 Swiatek upset by Krejcikova in Dubai final

MELBOURNE, Australia. Two days after reaching her first Grand Slam quarter-final, unseeded Magda Lynette moved up by one to advance to the semi-finals of the Australian Open.

Lynette, 30, beat Karolina Pliskova 6-3, 7-5, adding the former No. 1 to the list of the best players she has beaten at Melbourne Park in this tournament.

Lynette, who lost seven of her previous nine matches against Pliskova, defeated Anette Kontaveit, Ekaterina Aleksandrova and WTA Finals champion Caroline Garcia in consecutive rounds.

The player from Poland had the advantage to advance to the last stages of the tournament, but everyone expected it to be Iga Swiatek with the best seed, not Lynette.

“It’s so emotional I can’t believe it,” Lynette said. “I tried to stay calm and took risks when I could.”

Lynette will play No. 5 Arina Sabolenko, who beat unseeded Donna Vekic 6-3, 6-2 in the later quarter-finals. The women’s semi-finals are scheduled for Thursday evening.

Vekic, who committed 13 double faults against Sabolenko, succinctly assessed her serve: “I mean, it was all over the place. But I think mostly online.”

Other semi-finalists among women were determined on Tuesday. Two-time former Australian champion Victoria Azarenka will play Wimbledon title holder Elena Rybakina for a chance to play in Saturday’s final. Rybakina defeated Swiatek in the fourth round.

The remaining semi-finalists among men will be determined later on Wednesday. Unseeded Americans Ben Shelton and Tommy Paul play before nine-time champion Novak Djokovic takes on Andrey Rublev.

Djokovic will be looking to reach his 44th Grand Slam semi-final and a victory in this match on Friday will advance him to his 33rd singles final on Sunday night.

In the other men’s semi-final on Friday, third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas will play Karen Khachanov.

DOHA, Qatar. Daniil Medvedev made his debut at the Qatar Open by defeating Andy Murray 6-4, 6-4 in the former No. 1s’ final match on Saturday.

Medvedev implemented fast starts in every set. He went 4-1 in the first and 3-1 in the second.

Murray fought back, but Medvedev choked him to earn his 17th singles title.

“Sometimes we played badly, and then all of a sudden we both played amazingly,” Medvedev said. “I’m happy to win.”

Medvedev also won in Rotterdam last weekend and is on a nine-game winning streak.

After playing in a record-breaking fifth final in Doha, Murray said: “It was great to play the final here again against an incredible player. Daniil is one of my favorite players and one of the best players on the tour. It’s great for me to get the opportunity to play again against someone of his level in the final.”

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Ranked No. 1 Iga Sviatek lost 6-4, 6-2 to Barbora Krejcikova in the final of the Dubai Championship on Saturday.

Krejcikova ended the tournament by beating top three WTA players: #3 Jessica Pegula in the quarter-finals, #2 Arina Sobalenko in the semi-finals, then Swiatek. No. 8 Daria Kasaktina was also defeated in the second round.

The Czech is the fifth woman in the Open Era to beat the top three in the world in the same tournament.

Krejcikova dominated the final, beating Swiatek five times. The Polish girl earned two breaks in the first set, but Kreychikova then played a love break and kept the love until the set.

In the second, she made a 2-1 and 5-2 break and served easily to win her sixth singles title.

Her previous title came in October when she beat Swiatek for the first time in the Ostrava final.