MELBOURNE, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- World No. 1 Arnya Sabalenka overcame struggles on her serve to battle into the semifinals after edging 27th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova on Tuesday as she moved closer to a third straight Australian Open title.

In windy conditions on Rod Laver Arena, the Belarusian was broken five times and had to fend off a fightback from Pavlyuchenkova before prevailing 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in one hour and 53 minutes.

It was Sabalenka's 19th straight victory in Melbourne and she remains well on course for a hat-trick of titles, a feat that only five women have achieved in tournament history, with the last being Martina Hingis in 1999.

Sabalenka will next face 11th seed Paula Badosa, who reached her first Grand Slam semifinal after a straight sets upset of third seed Coco Gauff.

"I was just praying today and trying to put the ball back in these tough conditions," Sabalenka said. "She played amazing tennis, very aggressive."

Pavlyuchenkova had steadily found her rhythm in the tournament after starting with a tough three-set first round victory over China's Yuan Yue.

But the 33-year-old Russian faced a tall order against Sabalenka, who lost just three games against 14th seed Mirra Andreeva in the fourth round.

The first three games went with serve until Sabalenka stepped up her aggression and broke after consecutive winners on either side.

Sabalenka maintained the break advantage and lifted her level whenever she faced any hint of trouble.

Struggling with her serve amid the blustery conditions, Sabalenka slammed consecutive forehand winners to take the seventh game before once again unleashing her favored shot to wrap up the first set.

Pavlyuchenkova battled to hang on early in the second set before finding a spark and seizing an unexpected break with a fizzing forehand down the line.

She was inspired and turned the match on its head as errors flew off Sabalenka's racquet.

Pavlyuchenkova capitalized on her increasingly flustered opponent, breaking two more times to take the match into a deciding set.

Sabalenka's serving woes spilled over into the third set, but Pavlyuchenkova fared no better as they traded breaks in the first four games.

Sabalenka finally found her rhythm on serve before clinching the decisive break in the eighth game to finally crush Pavlyuchenkova's spirit. ■