Reuters
Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka [Source: Reuters]
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.
Badosa upset American third seed Coco Gauff to make her first Grand Slam semi-final, while Sabalenka downed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to stay on course to be the first woman to complete a “three-peat” since Martina Hingis from 1997-99.
Sabalenka, who has a 5-2 record against Badosa, was pleased with her friend’s progress in the tournament but said the Spaniard should not expect any easy treatment when they meet at Melbourne Park.
While she would not speculate on her chances of joining an elite group of players who have won three Australian Open titles in a row, including Margaret Court (1969-71), Evonne Goolagong (1974–76), Steffi Graf (1988–90), Monica Seles (1991–93) and Hingis, the Belarusian said it was not beyond her reach.
