MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Paula Badosa and Madison Keys will be out to prevent a dream Australian Open final when they face Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek, respectively, in Thursday’s semi-finals at Melbourne Park.
Sabalenka is on course to become the first woman to complete a “three-peat” since Swiss great Martina Hingis from 1997-90, while five-times Grand Slam champion Swiatek is chasing a first crown at Melbourne Park.
BADOSA RELISHING MEETING WITH BEST FRIEND SABALENKA
Sabalenka and Badosa must set aside friendship when the two meet on Rod Laver Arena.
Having dropped just one set so far at Melbourne Park, Spanish 11th seed Badosa presents a formidable obstacle for Belarusian world number one Sabalenka.
Badosa, who is looking in her best shape since falling out of the top 50 due to a series of injuries including a chronic back problem that threatened her career, stunned American third seed Coco Gauff to advance to her first Grand Slam semi-final.
Meanwhile, Sabalenka’s relentless pursuit of a third straight Australian Open title continued after she battled past Russian 27th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-2 2-6 6-3, dropping a set for just the second time in three years at Melbourne Park.
Sabalenka and Badosa have previously met seven times, with Sabalenka winning five of those meetings including their latest encounter at the third round of Roland-Garros last year.
Badosa will now have the opportunity to avenge that heartbreak.
“She is showing why she’s the number one in the world right now. She’s being very consistent, very aggressive. Very intense player. She’s always a really tough one to face,” former world number two Badosa told reporters.
“I faced her last year, but I think I was not in the form I am in now. If it is Aryna, I am really looking forward for that match.”
KEYS LOOKS TO UNLOCK FINAL DOOR
Polish second seed Swiatek holds a commanding 4-1 record over Keys and the American 19th seed knows it will be yet another challenging outing when they face-off on Rod Laver Arena.
At 23, Swiatek is the youngest player to reach seven Grand Slam semi-finals since Maria Sharapova at the 2006 U.S. Open and the Pole is looking ruthless as she looks to book a place in the final for the first time at Melbourne Park, having not dropped a set in her run to the semis.
However Keys, can take confidence from her 10-match winning run as she targets to book her place in the Australian Open final on her third attempt, having also reached the semis in 2015 and 2022.
“I think Iga is tough to beat because she has a lot of spin kind of naturally on both sides. She is a good server. She’s a good returner. She moves incredibly well,” Keys said.
“I think it is really hard to ever really get ahead in a point. I think for most of us out here, you are not really going to try to out-defend Iga.
“So then there is just such a balance of being aggressive and trying to get her to move and going for things, but not pressing too hard and not going for anything too quickly.”
AUSTRALIAN OPEN ORDER OF PLAY ON THURSDAY
Here is the order of play on the main showcourts on the 12th day of the Australian Open (prefix number denotes seeding):
ROD LAVER ARENA
Night session (0830 GMT/1930 AEDT)
1-Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus) v 11-Paula Badosa (Spain)
19-Madison Keys (U.S.) v 2-Iga Swiatek (Poland)
(Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
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