Women's world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka was full of praise for her opponent Mirra Andreeva after defeating the teen star to progress to her second straight final at the Brisbane International.
In their semi final match on Saturday, Sabalenka prevailed 6-3, 6-2 in 90 minutes but the battle was much tougher than what was reflected in the scoreline.
Andreeva held eight break points throughout the match but was unable to convert a single one in the face of Sabalenka's style of power and aggression.
Aryna Sabalenka plays a backhand during her match against Mirra Andreeva at the Brisbane International. Bradley Kanaris via Getty Images
Heading into her third year as a regular on the WTA Tour, Andreeva is ranked a career-high world No.16.
Speaking post-match, Sabalenka applauded the 17-year-old's effort.
"I'm really glad that against Mirra I was able to play such aggressive tennis," she said.
"She's an amazing player — a young player.
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"She's going to be [ranked] top-10 for so long and very soon, so I'm just happy to get this win."
Asked if she had any advice she wished to pass on to Andreeva, Sabalenka chose to keep her cards close to her chest.
"I'll give my advice to her when I retire," Sabalenka said with a grin.
"So far, I'll just let her do her thing.
"She's doing the right thing. She has a great team around her, family around her [and] an amazing coach — I couldn't recommend anyone better than [her coach Conchita MartÃnez].
"She's on the right path and definitely the future of tennis.
"She's moving well, serving great and hitting decent shots, so she's going to be there [the top 10] very soon."
The pair had met on three previous occasions with Sabalenka leading the head-to-head 2-1. However, Andreeva got the better of Sabalenka in three sets at Roland-Garros last June.
Earlier, qualifier Polina Kudermetova continued her stunning run in the River City, defeating Ukraine's Anhelina Kalinina 6-4, 6-3 in the first semi final.
With the win, Kudermetova extends her streak at the tournament to seven matches in a row. However, coming up against the two-time Australian Open champion in Sabalenka will be a whole new ball game.
Sabalenka and Kudermetova will square off in the final at 5:30pm AEDT on Sunday, January 5.