NFL
Sabalenka is going up again for Easter! What an exchange of shots!
Sabalenka is going up again for Easter! What an exchange of shots!
Two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka suffered a scare before reaching the Australian Open semi-finals on Tuesday and a date with Coco Gauff’s conqueror Paula Badosa.
Later, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz face off in a quarter-final duel for the ages in Melbourne, with world number two Alexander Zverev awaiting the winner.
Top seed Sabalenka is attempting to win the Australian Open for a third time in a row, something last achieved 26 years ago by Martina Hingis.
The Belarusian kept that dream alive but had to battle for it in beating Russian 27th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-2, 2-6, 6-3.
At 33, Pavlyuchenkova had been enjoying a late-career renaissance and was the oldest remaining woman in the draw.