In her last Grand Slam quarterfinal, the Spaniard fell apart in New York. She took the lessons to Gauff in Melbourne, and won.

Aryna Sabalenka moved one win away from becoming the first woman since 1999 to win three consecutive Australian Open titles, recovering from a slow start to beat good friend Paula Badosa 6-4, 6-2 Thursday night to return to the final.

Coco Gauff’s fast start to the year came to an end at the Australian Open as she fell to a 7-5, 6-4 quarterfinal defeat against Paula Badosa.