Sabalenka joins Badosa, Zverev also in the semi before…

World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka joined Spaniard Paula Badosa (12th) on Tuesday in the semi-finals of the Australian Open, where Alexander Zverev also won his ticket to the last four before a highly anticipated clash between Carlos Alcaraz (3rd) and Novak Djokovic (7th).

. Sabalenka en tremblant, Badosa the surprise

The Belarusian won with difficulty 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 against the Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (32nd), conceding her first set since the start of the tournament.

On a series of 19 consecutive victories in Melbourne, she is approaching a third consecutive title at the Australian Open, a performance which has not been achieved since 1999 and the hat-trick of the Swiss Martina Hingis.

“Honestly, I just prayed today, trying to return the ball in these difficult conditions. She played extraordinary tennis, very aggressive. I was super happy to have managed to win this match like magic,” Sabalenka said.

She will face Paula Badosa in the semi-finals who struck a major blow by dominating 7-5, 6-4 Coco Gauff (3rd), 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.

“I’m super proud of my level of play. For me, it’s a dream come true,” she said on the court at Rod Laver Arena.

Gauff said she was “disappointed, but not completely destroyed”.

“I gave everything on the court, I fought until the end,” she continued at a press conference, recognizing that Badosa had been “superior” to her in the key moments of the match.

. Zverev s’en black en quatre sets

Alexander Zverev (2nd) won his place in the semi-finals of the Australian Open on Tuesday for the second year in a row and the third time in his career, thanks to a four-set victory against the American Tommy Paul ( 11th).

The latter made life difficult for the German for three sets but was unable to maintain his breaks in advance at key moments of the first two rounds. Zverev also showed himself to be far superior to the American in the tie-breaks, ultimately winning 7-6 (7/1), 7-6 (7/0), 2-6, 6-1 in close quarters. from 3:30 a.m.

Olympic champion in 2021, Zverev won for the first time in his career against Paul, after two defeats in 2020 and 2022.

“I should have been down two sets to zero, I wasn’t playing very well and he was. I don’t really know how, but I won the first set, the second… and the fourth set was the best that I played” on Tuesday, said the German.

Still in search of his first Grand Slam title at age 27 after two lost finals (US Open 2020, Roland-Garros 2024), Zverev will face Carlos Alcaraz (3rd) or Novak Djokovic (7th) in the semi-finals, who are competing in a shock quarter-final on Tuesday evening.

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 which would make him the only holder of the record for Grand Slam victories, ahead of the Australian 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” had 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.

By Baptiste DEDIEU, Damien GAUDISSART / Melbourne (AFP) / © 2025 AFP