Aryna Sabalenka has continued her dominance on hard courts and indeed at the Australian Open after her quarter-final win over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Sabalenka is into a sixth successive hard court semi-final at Grand Slam level, having won both the Australian Open and US Open in 2024.
The Belarusian now meets Paula Badosa for a spot in the final in Melbourne, with WTA number one and top seed Sabalenka taking on the 11th seed.
She dropped just her first set of the entire tournament against Pavlyuchenkova, having stormed past her other opponents in previous rounds.
Sloane Stephens, Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, Clara Tauson and Mirra Andreeva have all been on the receiving end of straight set defeats at the hands of the defending champion.
Aryna Sabalenka surprised by ‘crazy’ slice shot against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
And while she did lose a set to Pavlyuchenkova, Sabalenka left Carlos Alcaraz impressed by a superb slice shot against the Russian.
Watching the footage of the Spaniard watching her second set break point winner, she said on Eurosport: “That’s fun. I don’t know [which point], probably one of those crazy winners. There were lots of crazy points.”
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And upon seeing the exact shot, she noted: “Oh yeah that was crazy, I don’t know how I did it, honestly I thought the ball was not going to go over the net, but wow, yeah, I had the same reaction.”
Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek continue to set Australian Open alight
It was certainly one of Sabalenka’s toughest tests at the Australian Open so far, having eventually progressed after one hour and 53 minutes.
Another very tough test is now expected against Badosa, who very impressively beat third seed Coco Gauff.
The Spaniard, who occupies 12th place in the WTA rankings, beat Gauff 7-5, 6-4 in one hour and 43 minutes.
But top seed and two-time defending champion Sabalenka is undoubtedly the favourite to win their match and indeed to go on and lift the trophy.
| Winner | Score | Opponent | Time |
| Paula Badosa | 7-5, 6-4 | Coco Gauff | 1h43m |
| Aryna Sabalenka | 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 | Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova | 1h53m |
| Madison Keys | 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 | Elina Svitolina | 1h53m |
| Iga Swiatek | 6-1, 6-2 | Emma Navarro | 1h29m |
She has barely put a foot wrong in Melbourne so far, although rival Iga Swiatek has perhaps been in more scintillating form ahead of her semi-final with Madison Keys.
The Pole, who lost her number one ranking to Sabalenka late last season, has yet to drop a set at the tournament, breezing past Emma Navarro 6-1, 6-2 in their quarter-final.
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