Aryna Sabalenka will not let her friendship with Paula Badosa affect her quest to win a third successive Australian Open title when the best friends clash in the semi-finals, the defending champion said on Tuesday.

Aryna Sabalenka sets up Australian Open semi-final with good friend Paula Badosa - The two-time defending champion recovered from losing her first set of the tournament.

After coming as close to defeat in Melbourne as she has for three long years, trailing by a break in the nerve-racking final set of her quarter-final match, Aryna Sabalenka drew on her unshakable mental toughness to find a way through to the semi-finals of the Australian Open with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 win over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.