Sabalenka beats Badosa in Stuttgart, reaches semifinals

Sabalenka came from a set and a break down to beat Paula Badosa 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. Iga Swiatek and Ons Jabeur also advanced to the last-four.

Aryna Sabalenka celebrates after winning the quarterfinal against Spain’s Paula Badosa. | Photo Credit: AFP

Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka came back from a set and a break down to beat Paula Badosa 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 and reach the semifinals of the Porsche Grand Prix on Friday.

Badosa broke Sabalenka in the opening game of the second set and was leading 4-2 before the Belarusian won seven straight games to take the set and move into a 3-0 lead in the decider. Badosa recovered to 3-3 but was broken in each of her next two service games to give Sabalenka the victory.

Sabalenka beat a clay specialist for the second straight match after defeating 2021 French Open champion Barbora Krejčíková on Wednesday.

Top-ranked Iga Swiatek rallied to beat Karolina Pliskova 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 for a place in the Porsche Grand Prix semifinals on Friday.

Swiatek hadn’t played since last month in the Indian Wells semifinals because of a rib injury but began her clay season on Thursday with a convincing win over Zheng Qinwen.

She next faces third-seeded Ons Jabeur, who eased into the semifinals against Beatriz Haddad Maia by 6-3, 6-0 in their quarterfinal.