American 14th seed Sofia Kenin says she has “butterflies” at the prospect of playing in her first Grand Slam final against Spain’s Garbine Muguruza at the Australian Open.

The pair meet in Melbourne at 08:30 GMT on Saturday.

“I’ve pictured so many times being in the final. I’ve always dreamed about it,” Kenin, 21, said.

Unseeded Muguruza, who won the 2016 French Open and Wimbledon in 2017, is bidding for her third Grand Slam title.

After also losing at All England Club in 2015, the 26-year-old will compete in her fourth major final.

“I’ll take into consideration my previous experiences, but it doesn’t guarantee anything,” the world number 32 said.

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Child prodigy Kenin one step from fulfilling dream

Kenin, who was born in Russia but moved to the United States when she was a few months old, is the first American to reach the Australian Open final aside from the Williams sisters since Lindsay Davenport in 2005.

She was a child prodigy in the States, making numerous television appearances and hitting with Grand Slam champions like John McEnroe, Kim Clijsters and Venus Williams when she was young and going on to reach the 2015 US Open girls final.

She won the WTA award for the most improved player in 2019 after winning three titles and climbing more than 40 places in the world rankings.

Now she is close to something even bigger.

Kenin reached the final after ending world number one Ashleigh Barty’s hopes of becoming the first Australian champion in Melbourne since 1978.

“First I’m just going to be enjoying the moment,” she said. “You don’t experience this so often. This is so exciting. Literally butterflies.

“I’m just going to also focus on what I need to do, focus on my game. I got here, it’s time to shine, do the best I can. Hopefully I can do something more special.”

‘The racquet has to speak out there’ – Muguruza hopes experience will prove key

Muguruza is bidding to become only the third unseeded woman to win the Australian Open, after home player Chris O’Neil in 1978 and American great Serena Williams in 2007.

The Venezuelan-born Spaniard slipped to 36th in the world at the end of last year, a little over two years after she was ranked number one.

But she has looked close to her best in Melbourne, having reunited with former coach Conchita Martinez – the 1994 Wimbledon champion – at the start of the season.

The experience of winning the sport’s biggest prizes is something which Muguruza hopes she can use to her advantage

“It’s something that not a lot of players can feel it. But at the end the racquet has to speak out there,” she said.

“It doesn’t matter how many Grand Slams you have. It’s a tennis match.

“Even if you have 15 Grand Slams, you go out there and you have somebody that can beat you.”

Muguruza has reached the Melbourne final by beating four seeded players, including three ranked in the world’s top 10.

Victories over Ukrainian fifth seed Elina Svitolina and Dutch ninth seed Kiki Bertens earlier in the tournament marked her out as a potential champion at Melbourne Park.

And she moved within another win of achieving that with a gutsy victory over Romanian fourth seed Simona Halep.

“I think she has the right attitude at the moment. She’s very focused,” said Martinez, who worked with Muguruza when she won Wimbledon.

“I have seen this look before when she’s been playing really good tennis.

“I like how she’s doing everything right to put herself in a good situation, to do well, to play well.”

Australian Open wheelchair doubles champion Alfie Hewett has been told he cannot compete beyond this year because his disability is not severe enough.

Hewett, who has Perthes disease which affects his hip and femur, and partner Gordon Reid beat Stephane Houdet and Nicolas Peifer in Friday’s final.

Hewett does not meet new classification rules introduced last August.

“There’s a new system that’s come in, and I just don’t meet the requirements for it,” Hewett, 22, told BBC Sport.

“But there’s no other option for me, because I’m not able to compete on my feet.”

The 22-year-old became very emotional as he and Reid celebrated a 4-6 6-4 (10-7) win over the top seeds at Melbourne Park.

In future, eligibility will be determined by an evaluation rather than a player’s self-assessment. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) says the new rules will “improve the integrity of classification”.

“I know there’s been a lot of noise in the last six months, and the decisions have been made now,” Hewett continued.

“At the moment it is my last year, so that’s why today meant a lot to me. And obviously Gio (Reid) knew that as well, and coming into that third-set tie-break it was just a case of going out there and giving it my all.

“I shed a few tears at the end, and back in the locker room. We’ve had a great time together, and a good adventure, and if this is the last time I play the Australian Open, then it’s very, very happy memories.”

Reid, who has now won seven Grand Slam titles alongside Hewett, has huge sympathy for his doubles partner.

“It’s obviously been tough,” he said.

“I can’t imagine putting myself in Alfie’s position. Classification in Paralympic sport is a very controversial subject, one that’s never going to be perfect and there’s always going to be someone that misses out.

“Things could change, I wouldn’t be surprised if they did, and hopefully this isn’t the last year we see Alfie playing wheelchair tennis.”

Players have the right to appeal, but it is likely to prove quite a challenge should Hewett decide to go down that route.

A spokesperson for the LTA said: “We are supporting all the players on our world class programme through the new classification process. That process is still ongoing, we are continuing to liaise with the ITF on it – therefore won’t be commenting on any specific player cases.”

The ITF website says players are eligible to compete in the open wheelchair division “if they have a permanent physical disability that results in substantial loss of function in one or both lower extremities (limbs), and that meets or exceeds the sport’s eligibility criteria”.

The rules have also been approved by the International Paralympic Committee.

Another player who affected by the new regulations is the Dutch five-time Grand Slam champion Marjolein Buis.

When she announced her intention to retire at the end of the year, she accused the authorities of “taking away my job and my passion”.

Whiley win eases pain of missing son’s birthday

Briton Jordanne Whiley won her first Grand Slam title on Friday since returning to the sport after the birth of her son.

The 27-year-old and Japanese partner Yui Kamiji defeated Dutch top seeds Diede de Groot and Aniek van Koot 6-2 6-4.

Whiley said the victory eased the pain of having missed her son Jackson’s second birthday, which was on Thursday.

“I’ve been away for three weeks now and that’s the longest I’ve been away from him so it’s been really difficult,” said Whiley, who won her third Australian doubles title.

“And to have his second birthday yesterday was really emotional for me to be here. But I said to Marc, his dad, my coach and fiance, that if I’m going to be away from him then I have to make everything count.

“So I’m really pleased I’m bringing home the title. That’s something that has really aided my performances coming back. I don’t want to waste any time while I’m away.”

Dominic Thiem will meet defending champion Novak Djokovic in Sunday’s Australian Open final after digging deep to beat Alexander Zverev.

Thiem, 26, won 3-6 6-4 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-4) in a match briefly interrupted by rain and a lighting failure.

The Austrian fifth seed said “it was an unreal match” and he will now look to win his first Grand Slam, after losing the past two French Open finals.

Djokovic is favourite to win a record-extending eighth title and 17th major.

The 32-year-old has lost just three matches in the past 10 Australian Open tournaments.

German seventh seed Zverev, 22, was bidding to reach his first Grand Slam final but instead, it his good friend who will play for the title.

“To reach the Australian Open final is unreal,” said Thiem, who will bid to become only the second Austrian player – after Thomas Muster at the 1995 French Open – to win a Grand Slam.

“Two tie-breaks, so tough and so close, it was almost impossible to break him.”

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Third time lucky for Thiem?

Thiem produced a heroic effort, physically and mentally, to beat Spanish top seed Rafael Nadal in an epic quarter-final that lasted more than four hours on Wednesday.

As a result it looked as though the Austrian, who said he did not get to sleep until 5am following that win, was lacking energy against Zverev.

The crushing groundstrokes he produced against Nadal initially lacked fizz, largely down to being pinned back by the big-serving German.

“It is not easy because I played four hours and 10 minutes against Rafa, who is the most intense man on tour,” said Thiem, who is through to his first Australian Open final.

“I had some troubles in the first set, it was both of our first semi-finals here and it was not easy.”

But Thiem fought back in the second set, hitting cleaner and helped by a horror of a service game from the German, to level.

The unforced error count crept up again in the third, seemingly as a sign of fatigue, but he recovered when it mattered most.

After saving two set points at 5-4 in the third, Thiem started the tie-break with a deft pick-up at the net which provided the momentum – following that with an ace, two service winners and pair of blistering winners off either wing – to clinch the lead.

That was the fourth tie-break he had won in a row, following the three which saw him beat Nadal.

It also provided the confidence that took him through the fourth-set decider.

After two loose errors led to him being pegged back, Thiem was helped when Zverev whacked an overhead wide of the doubles court for a 4-2 lead.

The tension and drama increased when the umpire overruled a call that Zverev hit long at 4-3. The point was replayed with Thiem landing a ferocious forehand to win it.

Another winner brought up three match points for the Austrian and he took the second when he sprung forward to put away a forehand volley at the net.

Thiem broke out into a beaming smile before sharing a warm hug with his opponent, whom he has known since their junior days.

“In all of the tie-breaks I think I was 2-0, 3-0 up and it gives you confidence for the rest,” he said.

‘I felt like I was in Austria on a skiing holiday’ – Thiem helped by lights delay

The magnitude of their first Australian Open semi-final and, a first Slam semi-final in Zverev’s case, led to both players starting nervously.

But the tension was lifted – mainly among the crowd but also in Thiem, it turned out – during a bizarre stoppage.

As the players headed to their chairs after the opening game of the third set, Zverev complained that some lights behind the baseline had gone out.

Although it was barely noticeable to most of the puzzled fans on Rod Laver Arena, it led to an eight-minute break while tournament officials dealt with the problem.

The crowd were particularly entertained by Sweet Caroline playing over the speakers, with Thiem’s mother Karin dancing to the Neil Diamond classic and the player breaking into a grin.

“That helped loosen me up a little,” he laughed.

“I like that song. I felt like I was in Austria on a skiing holiday, they play that song all the time.”

Thiem was still in the groove when they resumed, comfortably holding and then breaking for a 2-1 lead.

Although he was broken back for 5-5, the momentum remained tilted in his favour throughout the rest of the match.

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Zverev’s demons return at key points

Following his first-round win, Zverev pledged to donate his entire prize pot to the Australian bushfire relief fund if he won his first Grand Slam at Melbourne Park.

A gesture of great generosity, it was also one that seemed fanciful.

Zverev looked far away from being able to tilt a crack at the trophy after losing all of three of his matches in a torrid start to the season at the ATP Cup in Sydney.

The 22-year-old took his anger out at his father and coach, Alexander senior, in an unsavoury argument during a defeat by Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas, where he hit 10 double faults and landed just 45% of his first serves.

However, his serve was the part of his game which was instrumental in carrying him to the last four in Melbourne and winning the first set against Thiem.

“I’ve spent hours on that shot. So at some point I knew it had to come back,” said Zverev.

Zverev landed 90% of his first serves in the opening set, allowing his opponent to win just seven receiving points.

However, the demons returned at crucial moments in the match.

A pair of double faults allowed Thiem to break for the first time in the second set, from which point Zverev started missing more first serves and let Thiem apply more pressure.

Another double fault in the fourth set tie-break helped Thiem to a 3-0 lead and, after pegging him back to 3-2, Zverev produced that wild overhead to lose momentum again.

From there he was unable to recover, continuing Germany’s 17-year wait for a Grand Slam men’s finalist.

“I had a lot of chances. I had 14 break points. That should be plenty,” Zverev added.

“In the important moments, I didn’t play my best. He did. That’s where the match kind of went his way.”

Britain’s Jamie Murray moved a step closer to an eighth Grand Slam doubles title as he and Bethanie Mattek-Sands reached the Australian Open final.

Murray and American Mattek-Sands saw off Australian wild cards Astra Sharma and John-Patrick Smith 6-3 7-6 (7-4).

They will face fifth seeds Barbora Krejcikova from the Czech Republic and Croatia’s Nikola Mektic on Saturday.

“There was a lot at stake. For us to be in the final is really exciting,” said Murray, 33.

Murray and Mattek-Sands won in one hour and 22 minutes with the roof closed over Rod Laver Arena because of the extreme heat policy, after temperatures topped 40C.

The Scot is chasing a sixth mixed doubles title to add to the two men’s doubles majors he won at Melbourne Park and the US Open in 2016.

Murray and Mattek-Sands have already won two mixed doubles titles together, with both coming at the US Open.

Britain’s Joe Salisbury and American partner Rajeev Ram are into the men’s doubles final, where they face Australians Luke Saville and Max Purcell on Sunday.

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