Aryna Sabalenka’s bid for a third consecutive Australian Open championship will continue after she got past Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 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 (No. 1 ranking) will face Paula Badosa (No. 12) in the semifinals at the Australian Open on Thursday, January 23.Sabalenka secured a three-set victory over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova

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.

Sabalenka appeared on course to cruise through to the last four, and a clash with Paula Badosa, when she took the opening set with ease

She is now 19-0 at the slam, dating back to her dominant performance in 2023 when she dropped only one set en route to her first major.

With a 6-1, 6-2 victory over 14th-seeded Mirra Andreeva to open play Sunday at Rod Laver Arena, Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. She'll be joined there by Coco Gauff.

In the Australian Open quarterfinals on Monday, Aryna Sabalenka faces Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.In her last match on Saturday, Sabalenka took down Mirra Andreeva in two sets, 6-1, 6-2, to advance