By Shrivathsa Sridhar and Ian Ransom MELBOURNE (Reuters) -Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka and Madison Keys made sluggish starts on Thursday but sealed contrasting victories to set up an Australian Open final showdown that will pit two of the game's heavy hitters against each other.

Aryna Sabelenka remains on course for a historic third straight Australian Open title after beating No. 11 seed and close friend Paula Badosa 6-4 6-2 in Thursday’s first semifinal.

It seems as if there’s always something going on with Novak Djokovic at Grand Slam tournaments. Even he says so.

The 2025 Australian Open runs from Sunday, Jan. 12 to Sunday, Jan. 26. However, due to the time difference in The Land Down Under, match start times will be a bit wonky for U.S. viewers, meaning the first major tennis tournament of the year will start airing coverage at 7 p.m. ET on Jan. 11 in U.S. timezones.

The first of two Australian Open women’s singles semifinals is set for an early Thursday morning start in Melbourne as No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka battles No. 11 Paula Badosa.

Sabalenka is continuing to carve her way through the field in trying to become the first woman since fellow Swiss star Martina Hingis to win three straight Australian Open titles. The Belarussian was looking pretty clean through the first four rounds, though she needed three sets to get by Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the quarterfinals.

Double defending champion Aryna Sabalenka overpowered Paula Badosa 6-4 6-2 to reach her third successive Australian Open final on Thursday.

The potential championship matchups should bring a lot of intrigue to the first Grand Slam tournament of the year

Swiatek will face No. 19 Madison Keys of the U.S. on Thursday night for a berth in the final. The other women’s semifinal is No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, the two-time defending champion, against her good friend, No. 11 Paula Badosa.

Ben Shelton and Madison Keys are the last two Americans standing at the 2025 Australian Open. Shelton downed unseeded Italian Lorenzo Sonego in