No.2 seed Aryna Sabalenka bent, but didn't break, against Marketa Vondrousova to reach the semifinals of the Adelaide International 1. 

The big-hitting Sabalenka was bossing the opening quarterfinal in Adelaide to the tune of a 6-3, 4-1, 40-0 lead against the 2019 Roland Garros finalist before things got complicated. She lost four of the next five games, and failed to convert match point, before righting the ship in the late stages for a 6-3, 7-5 win.

Words from the winner: Sabalenka hasn't dropped a set so far this week, but it hasn't been smooth sailing. 

She came from 5-1 down, and saved seven set points, in the first set of a 7-6(8), 7-6(3) win over Liudmila Samsonova in Round 2. Against Vondrousova, she saved two break points in the last game of the match, and saved six of the eight against her overall. 

"It was a tough match. She fought until the end. I'm really happy I was able to win this match," Sabalenka said. "I think because I'm staying really calm and I feel at home here, that's why I'm playing really well."

Stats of the match: The tale of the tape was high quality from both players. Sabalenka hammered 38 winners to 26 unforced errors, while the crafty Vondrousova totaled 17 winners to just 10 mistakes. 

It was Sabalenka's fourth straight win over the Tokyo Olympic silver medalist, and her second straight triumph against the Czech Down Under. Last year, Sabalenka beat her 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 in the third round of the Australian Open.

Begu moves into semifinals with 8th Top 10 win of career

Sabalenka will play for a berth in her 19th career Hologic WTA Tour singles final against unseeded Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu, who upset No.4 seed Veronika Kudermetova 7-5, 6-4 in 2 hours and 10 minutes.

Highlights: Begu def. Kudermetova

Begu had triumphed only twice in her last 20 matches against Top 10 opposition, but she was able to get back on track against that echelon with her eighth career Top 10 win on Friday. Begu leveled her head-to-head against World No.9 Kudermetova at 1-1 with the victory.

"I've been working really hard in the off-season on the physical condition, my body, getting more strong," Begu told the press. "I think I was able to move good, and in the same time, to play good tactics, just to play more spin. Here the court is helping me a lot. I was serving good."

Begu is now in her first tour-level semifinal since she won the Palermo title last July. She is also in her first semifinal at WTA 500 level since St. Petersburg last February.

More to come...