Sabalenka beats Badosa in Stuttgart, reaches semifinals

STUTTGART, Germany — 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.

Sabalenka will play either Caroline Garcia or Anastasia Potapova in the semifinals.