• Belarusian sees off 11th seed and close friend 6-4, 6-2
• Winner will face Madison Keys in final on Saturday

An increasingly comfortable Aryna Sabalenka powered into the final of the Australian Open by seeing off her good friend and the 11th seed, Paula Badosa, under the roof on Rod  Laver Arena, as she continued her pursuit of a third straight title here.

The Belarusian’s forehand and serve proved too powerful despite Badosa’s early resistance and the world No 1 pulled away in the second set to win 6-4, 6-2 in 86 minutes.