MELBOURNE (Reuters) - 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.
Badosa upset American third seed Coco Gauff to make her first Grand Slam semi-final, while Sabalenka downed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to stay on course to be the first woman to complete a "three-peat" since Martina Hingis from 1997-99.
Sabalenka, who has a 5-2 record against Badosa, was pleased with her friend's progress in the tournament but said the Spaniard should not expect any easy treatment when they meet at Melbourne Park.
"We decided a long time ago that off the court we are friends, while on the court she really wants to win, I really want to win," Sabalenka told Reuters after her 6-2 2-6 6-3 win over Russian 27th seed Pavlyuchenkova.
"So on the court we are competitors and there is no place for friendship."
While she would not speculate on her chances of joining an elite group of players who have won three Australian Open titles in a row, including Margaret Court (1969-71), Evonne Goolagong (1974–76), Steffi Graf (1988–90), Monica Seles (1991–93) and Hingis, the Belarusian said it was not beyond her reach.
"I'm really happy that I put myself in this situation where I have the opportunity to become one of them," she told reporters.
"To be next to those names, wow, that's just a dream. Of course, it has always been in the back of my mind that I can do that. But you know, my main focus is ... step by step.
"I know that if I will be able to bring my best tennis on each game, if not the best tennis, then the best fighting spirit, I know that I'm capable of doing that."
(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; writing by Amlan Chakraborty; editing by Christian Radnedge)
