Aryna Sabalenka bests Badosa, nears 3rd Australian Open title - ESPN

MELBOURNE, Australia — Aryna Sabalenka moved one win away from becoming the first woman since 1999 to win three consecutive Australian Open titles, recovering from a slow start to beat good friend Paula Badosa 6-4, 6-2 on Thursday and return to the final.

«I have goose bumps. I'm so proud of myself. I'm proud of my team that we were able to put ourselves in such a situation,» said the No. 1-seeded Sabalenka, who will face No. 2 Iga Swiatek or No. 19 Madison Keys for the championship. «If I'll be able to put myself in the history [books], it's going to mean a lot. It's going to mean the world to me.»

Just 10 minutes into her semifinal, Sabalenka was down a break and trailed 2-0, 40-love. She was making unforced errors, shaking her head or gesturing toward her entourage in the stands after many of them.

But the 26-year-old from Belarus quickly figured things out, especially once Rod Laver Arena's retractable roof was shut late in the first set because of a drizzle. She straightened her strokes, frequently using huge returns and groundstrokes to overpower the 11th-seeded Badosa, who had eliminated No. 3 Coco Gauff on Tuesday to reach her first major semifinal.

Sabalenka grabbed four games in a row and five of six to lead 5-3 and soon was ending that set with a 114 mph ace. She broke to lead 2-1 in the second set — helped by two double faults by Badosa — and again to go up 4-1.

«She started to be very, very aggressive. Everything was working. Everything she was doing today, touching today, could become gold,» said Badosa, who thought about retiring last year while dealing with a stress fracture in her back. «If she plays like this, I mean, we can already give her the trophy.»

The key statistic: Sabalenka finished with a