Australian Open 2025 LIVE updates: ‘Sabadosa’ meet in blockbuster night of semi-finals; Djoker skips training; Aussie young gun into semi
Best friends Aryna Sabalenka and Paula Badosa clash in semi-final showdown before Madison Keys take on Iga Swiatek as Ben Shelton slams broadcasters over ‘negativity’.
Key posts7.46pmThe battle for world number one begins tonight
7.11pmHow tonight works
7.03pmKeys aims to go one better
6.43pmBadosa’s ride from quarantine hell to Open semi-finals
6.22pmHrdlicka pumps up Open records
6.01pmSam Mostyn, Tyra Banks headline inspiration lunch
5.49pmWatch: Fans speak about crowd behaviour
5.30pmCoach Murray proves the missing piece in Novak’s puzzle
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How tonight worksBoth women’s finalists will be decided tonight at Rod Laver Arena.
You would think the first match should be decided in around two hours but it could also go longer if the players play long games.
From 7.30pm AEDT: Aryna Sabalenka v Paula Badosa.
Then after their match: Iga Swiatek v Madison Keys.
Iga Swiatek of Poland signs autographs after winning her quarter-final match.Credit: AP
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8.21pm
Sabalenka breaks in marathon game; rain fallsSabalenka has another break but it took her 10 minutes as she and Badosa played out an extended game that jumped between advantages.
She is hitting more winners, Badosa is missing some vital ones while both players are making unusual errors.
Aryna Sabalenka.Credit: AP
Sabalenka leads 3-2 first set.
The rain is now falling and that has stopped play while the roof closes, given the dark clouds around Melbourne Park all night.
8.09pm
Sabalenka levels it upSabalenka smashed home a winner at the net to make sure she held serve and levelled the first set at 2-2.
Badosa has a big job ahead of her to keep with the reigning champion.
8.03pm
Sabalenka breaks backSabalenka was staring down a 0-3 deficit midway through the last game and it must have shaken her out of her struggles as her ground strokes came back and she powered back into the game and the set.
Sabalenka got the break back and is about to serve at 1-2 down.
This is a fierce contest between two great friends.
Aryna Sabalenka.Credit: Eddie Jim
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Badosa gets the break as Sabalenka hits wideBadosa has the first break and it has come in the second game.
Sabalenka just can’t get her radar on track so her power shots are going wide of the lines.
Aryna Sabalenka.Credit: AP
That is very much like the worst parts of her quarterfinal win.
Badosa leads 2-0.
7.51pm
Badosa holds first upPaula Badosa of Spain.Credit: Getty Images
Badosa was down 15-30 in her first service game as Sabalenka looked to dominate the points and get the early break.
But Badosa nailed a couple of big winners including an ace and she held serve.
Badosa leads 1-0.
7.46pm
The battle for world number one begins tonight By Marc McGowanTonight’s Australian Open women’s semi-finals will decide Saturday’s finalists but also may determine who is No.1 next week.
Dual defending champion Aryna Sabalenka faces close friend Paula Badosa in the first of the semi-finals as she bids to become the first player in 26 years to win three Australian Open titles in a row.
Iga Swiatek on the way to defeating Emma Navarro in the quarter-final.Credit: Chris Hopkins
Sabalenka must beat Badosa to retain her world No.1 ranking, even if Iga Swiatek loses her semi-final to American Madison Keys.
If Swiatek makes the final, Sabalenka needs to claim the title to stay in front of the star Pole.
Sabalenka leads Badosa 5-2 in their head-to-head, including winning their past five clashes, while Swiatek has won four of her five contests with Keys.
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Players heading outSabalenka and Badosa are great friends but both look locked in as they begin the walk to centre court for tonight’s semi-final.
One of them will progress to the women’s final, the other won’t.
Aryna Sabalenka.Credit: Christopher Hopkins
Sabalenka is doing her final warm up in the hallway and she is joking, smiling with her team.
Badosa looks a little more steely but that is her way.
They will be on court any minute for final hit ups and the start of the match.
7.26pm
Your view: Who do you have?7.11pm
How tonight worksBoth women’s finalists will be decided tonight at Rod Laver Arena.
You would think the first match should be decided in around two hours but it could also go longer if the players play long games.
From 7.30pm AEDT: Aryna Sabalenka v Paula Badosa.
Then after their match: Iga Swiatek v Madison Keys.
Iga Swiatek of Poland signs autographs after winning her quarter-final match.Credit: AP
Advertisement7.03pm
Keys aims to go one betterHaving dropped only seven games in her past four matches, Swiatek shapes as a formidable challenge for Madison Keys in her third AO semi.
Facing Swiatek, though, could not be any onerous a task than taking on Ash Barty in the 2022 semi-finals after which Keys declared Australia’s top-seeded eventual champion had been almost unplayable in a 6-1 6-3 defeat.
Madison Keys.Credit: AP
Keys is at least happy to be playing the four-time French Open winner on a hard court this time around, having endured three of her four defeats previously against the Pole on clay.
The former US Open finalist’s only victory over Swiatek came in Cincinnati in 2022.
“I grew up playing in Cincy. They play pretty fast,” Keys said.
“It was just kind of one of those days where the ball felt lively, and I was able to kind of get ahead a little bit earlier in the point consistently and just was able to kind of run with that pressure.
“I feel like every other time I’ve played her it’s been on the slowest court ever and she’s just gotten every single ball back over.”
Keys knows she will need to be at her best to have any chance of springing an upset on Rod Laver Arena.
“Iga is tough to beat because she has a lot of spin kind of naturally on both sides. She’s a good server. She’s a good returner. She moves incredibly well,” the 29-year-old said.
“The biggest thing that makes her so difficult to beat is because since she moves so well, if you miss your spot just slightly, she has enough time to recover, and then the point goes back to neutral.
“So it’s really hard to ever really get ahead in a point.
“For most of us out here, you are not really going to try to out-defend Iga, so then there’s just such a balance of being aggressive and trying to get her to move and going for things but not pressing too hard and not going for anything too quickly.”
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