In the final at the Australian Open on Saturday, Aryna Sabalenka (ranked No. 1) takes on Madison Keys (No. 14).In her last match on Thursday, Sabalenka beat Paula Badosa in two sets, 6-4, 6-2, to

Aryna Sabalenka’s bid for a third consecutive Australian Open championship will continue after she got past Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 in a surprisingly difficult quarterfinal.

MELBOURNE, Australia — Aryna Sabalenka continued her charge towards a third-straight Australian Open title by overwhelming her “soulmate” Paula Badosa 6-4, 6-2 in Thursday evening’s semifinal.

Double defending champion Aryna Sabalenka has reached her third successive Australian Open final, where she will face first-time finalist Madison Keys. Sabalenka will be bidding for her fourth Grand Slam title in the women's decider on Saturday.

Keys saved a match point before winning in a final set tie-break while Sabalenka saw off close friend Paula Badosa.

Aryna Sabalenka, the world No. 1 and two-time champion at the Australian Open, survived a major scare against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to advance to the semifinals. Sabalenka was twice a break down in the deciding set,

Sabalenka beat good friend Paula Badosa of Spain earlier Thursday, 6-4, 6-2. Sabalenka, a 26-year-old from Belarus, can become the first woman since 1999 to win three consecutive Australian Open singles crowns. "If she plays like this," the 11th-seeded Badosa said, "I mean, we can already give her the trophy."

With women’s tennis on the verge of an epic showdown between its top two players with the Australian Open title on the line, Keys, the 29-year-old American, crashed the party. She stormed back against Iga Swiatek to win their semifinal 5-7,