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.

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.

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."

Madison Keys will seek her first Grand Slam title when takes on two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka in the Australian Open final.

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.

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, 6-1, 7-6 (10-8)

In the Australian Open quarterfinals on Monday, Aryna Sabalenka faces Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.In her last match on Saturday, Sabalenka took down Mirra Andreeva in two sets, 6-1, 6-2, to advance

Aryna Sabalenka, who can write her name into the tennis record books with a third consecutive Australian Open title on Saturday, has become the complete player. That would add her name to a select group of tennis greats who have completed the Melbourne three-peat.

Former teenage prodigy Madison Keys arrived in Australia with the goal of seeing how well she could perform with her 30th birthday approaching next month. Keys ended her season early in October last year and married her coach,

Sabalenka will be the overwhelming favourite to defeat Keys and complete the “three-peat” after prevailing in four of their five previous meetings.