Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open!
As per BBC Sports, initially, it looked like Sabalenka might not make it to her 10th career Grand Slam semifinal due to the tough situation.
Sabalenka’s serve became shaky, and Pavlyuchenkova Anastasia took advantage by breaking her serve five times in a row, winning the second set and gaining a lead in the third.
Anastasia couldn’t capitalize on her lead, and Sabalenka quickly equalized and finished a match with a victory.
She managed to overcome a tough challenge from Anastasia and won the match with a score of 6-2, 2-6, 6-3.
The player is aiming to win her third consecutive Australian Open women’s singles title.
If she succeeds, she would become the first player to achieve this since Martina Hingis.
After winning the match, the 26-year-old expressed, "I think it is good to have these tough battles and be tougher in the later stages of the tournament.”
She added, “I was all over the place. I'm really glad that at some point I was able to put myself back together."
The player further expressed excitement about playing against her friend Paula Badosa in the semifinals.
This comes after Badosa’s unexpected victory over the third seed, Coco Gauff, earlier that day.
