The Spaniard Paula Badosa (12th in the world) offered her first Grand Slam semi-final on Tuesday by surprising the world No.3 Coco Gauff at the Australian Open, before a highly anticipated clash between Carlos Alcaraz (3rd) and Novak Djokovic (7th) in the evening.
The surprise Badosa awaits Sabalenka
Paula Badosa struck a big blow on Tuesday by dominating 7-5, 6-4 Coco Gauff, undefeated since November and winner of the US Open in 2023.
Thanks to this first victory of her career against a top 10 Grand Slam player, the Spaniard reached the final four of a major tournament for the first time.
Ex-2nd in the world before falling in the rankings due to injuries, Badosa could meet Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-final. The world No.1 will face the Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (32nd) at the start of the evening (7 p.m. in Melbourne, 8 a.m. GMT).
“I’m super proud of my level of play. For me, it’s a dream come true“, she savored on the court of the Rod Laver Arena just after her victory.
Like the Polish Iga Swiatek (2nd), Sabalenka qualified for the quarter-finals without losing a single set.
On a streak of 18 consecutive victories in Melbourne, she will want to continue her road to a third consecutive title at the Australian Open. The last to have achieved this hat-trick was the Swiss Martina Hingis from 1997 to 1999.
But if the two players have not faced each other since the third round of Roland-Garros in 2021, Pavlyuchenkova leads 2-1 in her confrontations against the Belarusian.
Alcaraz-Djokovic chasing records
Carlos Alcaraz (3rd in the world) against Novak Djokovic (7th): at the end of the day on Tuesday, the Rod Laver Arena will host a classic with the feel of a record race in Melbourne.
-Expected since the draw, the eighth confrontation between the two former world No.1s could allow the 21-year-old Spaniard to continue his march towards the only Grand Slam title missing from his record.
The Serbian, 16 years his senior, is aiming for a 25th title in a major tournament which would make him the only record holder for Grand Slam victories, ahead of Australian legend Margaret Court (24 successes).
In their duels, Djokovic leads four victories to three and has always won on hard court, at the Masters-1000 in Cincinnati and at the ATP Finals in 2023.
This match is also a first, since “Carlitos” and the “Djoker” have never met before at such an early stage of a tournament – they crossed swords three times in the semi-finals and four times in the final.
The winner of this clash will not be at the end of their troubles, with a potential semi-final against Alexander Zverev.
The world No.2, in search of his first Grand Slam title at the age of 27, will face Tommy Paul (11th) at the end of the afternoon (from 03:00 GMT) for a place in the last four.
If the American has only faced players who were not seeded until then and may appear as an opponent within reach of the German, Paul leads two victories to zero in their mano a mano.
