'I was praying': Aryna Sabalenka defies Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in dicey three-set battle
Aryna Sabalenka was "praying" she would get through her three-set, quarter-final battle with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova on Tuesday night.
With a 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 victory on Rod Laver Arena, Sabalenka's hopes of a women's singles three-peat at the Australian Open are still intact.
But not everything went the world No.1's way across the two hours on-court.
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Aryna Sabalenka shows her frustration during her quarter-final match against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Jason Heidrich/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Sabalenka started strongly, easily wrapping up the first set in the dominant fashion tennis fans are used to seeing when the back-to-back champion plays down under.
However, Pavlyuchenkova responded in the second set, not willing to go quietly into the night.
The 27th seed broke Sabalenka's serve in the third game to take a 2-1 lead which quickly stretched to a double break.
Sabalenka wrestled back a break after Pavlyuchenkova squandered game-point by sending a sure winner long.
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However, the reprieve was short-lived as Pavlyuchenkova immediately broke back before serving out the set.
The result marked the first set Sabalenka had dropped at this year's tournament.
With the momentum still in Pavlyuchenkova's favour early in the deciding third set, the pair traded breaks across the first four games.
But Sabalenka found her footing in the fifth game with a hold of serve before accelerating towards the finish line.
"Shaken but not stirred. Sabalenka through to the semi-finals," Sam Smith said in commentary for Nine.
"It was a battle royale."
Speaking post-match, Sabalenka was relieved to have held her nerve during the two breaks of serve the deciding set.
"Honestly, I was just praying today," she said.
"I was just praying I would put the ball back [in play] in these tough conditions.
"We were both just trying to put the ball back and was just very difficult."
Sabalenka will meet Spaniard Paula Badosa in the penultimate round on Thursday.
