MELBOURNE, Australia — Aryna Sabalenka continued her charge towards a third-straight Australian Open title by overwhelming her “soulmate” Paula Badosa 6-4, 6-2 in Thursday evening’s semifinal.

Aryna Sabalenka's bid for a third consecutive Australian Open championship will continue after she got past Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 in a surprisingly difficult quarterfinal.

Aryna Sabalenka, the world No. 1 and two-time champion at the Australian Open, survived a major scare against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to advance to the semifinals. Sabalenka was twice a break down in the deciding set,

Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek are clear favourites to win their respective semi-finals on Thursday and set up a blockbuster Australian Open title decider.She has exuded an air of calmness and confidence as she aims not only to win a maiden Australian Open title but also retake the number one ranking from Sabalenka.

Aryna Sabalenka will face close friend Paula Badosa in the semi-finals of the Australian Open after battling to victory over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. The two-time defending champion’s 18-match winning run at Melbourne Park looked in serious danger when she lost the second set on a windy Rod Laver Arena.

Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open with a battling 6-2 2-6 6-3 win over Russian 27th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, as her quest for a third straight title at Melbourne Park gained momentum.

Aryna Sabalenka kept a historic Australian Open hat-trick on track Tuesday as she battled past Russian 27th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 in the quarter-finals. An exchange of breaks took the Russian to a 5-2 lead and she served out to love to level the match.