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 had her back to the wall early in the third set of her quarterfinal against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, but the world number one stuck to a simple process to stay alive at the Australian Open.

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

By Shrivathsa Sridhar MELBOURNE (Reuters) -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,

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,

Paula Badosa beats Coco Gauff to reach Australian Open semi-finals; defending-champion Aryna Sabalenka survives scare to beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in three sets; watch all the action from the ATP and WTA Tours on Sky Sports Tennis,

Coco Gauff of the U.S. reacts during her quarterfinal match against Paula Badosa of Spain during their quarterfinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan.

Aryna Sabalenka will not let her friendship with Paula Badosa affect her quest to win a third successive Australian Open title when the best friends clash in the semi-finals, the defending champion said on Tuesday.

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.