Top seed Sabalenka proved to be at another level, though, racking up 32 winners for the match to leave Badosa chasing shadows under the lights at Rod Laver Arena.
Andy Murray says 'definite possibility' he's played his last Australian Open match
A solitary break in the eighth game was all Djokovic needed to take the opening set, as the 37-year-old looked in total control despite playing well within himself in perfect conditions at a packed centre court.
Halep reached the Melbourne title match in 2018 but lost a three-set thriller to Caroline Wozniacki. It was the Romanian's third defeat in three Grand Slam finals.
Garbine Muguruza swapped her rackets for crampons and headed to Tanzania with a friend to climb 5,895 metre (19,340 feet) Mount Kilimanjaro, a five-day expedition in which she scaled
'I've been a little bit shocked this week with how players have been treated by the broadcaster.'
China's Li Na sent a wayward Maria Sharapova crashing out of the Australian Open semi-finals on Thursday and says there will be no repeat of her capitulation to Kim Clijsters in the 2011 Melbourne Park final.
The loss ends five-time major champion Swiatek's bid to become the first woman to win the tournament in the Southern California desert three times.
At 27, the second seed is still seeking his first Grand Slam title and hopes to become the first German man to win the Australian Open since Boris Becker in 1996.
Lewis Hamilton will launch his bid to win the drivers' championship at a third F1 team when he makes his much-anticipated debut for Ferrari in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
Three contenders for the women's singles title at the Australian Open.
Comedian Will Ferrell discussed how he plans to beat the heat.
Carlos Alcaraz reached his second Australian Open quarter-final on Sunday when his opponent Jack Draper retired injured when trailing 7-5, 6-1.
Learner Tien is the youngest American man to reach the third round of the Australian Open since an 18-year-old Pete Sampras in 1990.
Australian great Rod Laver says engravers should get to work putting the world number one's name on the Grand Slam trophy for an 11th time.
Zverev fresh for Australian Open final after being spared gruelling Djokovic test
On-court coaching, previously banned and punishable by point deductions, disqualification or even suspension from tournaments is being positively encouraged at Melbourne Park with "coaching pods"
Jannik Sinner kept alive his dream of becoming the first Italian to lift three Grand Slam singles trophies.
Defiant Djokovic still targeting Grand Slam wins after Australia setback
Novak Djokovic is ready to challenge Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz at the Grand Slam stage when he returns to action at the Australian Open after an underwhelming campaign this year, the 24-times champion said.
The Australian Open men's singles final offers a rematch of the dramatic 2021 French Open final, in which Djokovic came back from two sets down to snatch the title and leave Greek Tsitsipas heartbroken.
Defending champion Jannik Sinner dismissed eighth seed Alex de Minaur 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 to reach the Australian Open semi-finals and extend the country's decades-long wait for another homegrown singles winner at the Grand Slam on Wednesday.
Security officials promptly made a human shield around the players as some others dragged the person
Daniil Medvedev destroyed his racket and a net camera in a mid-match meltdown as he survived a huge scare against Thai wildcard Kasidit Samrej.
Ukrania tennis player Yuliia Starodubtseva's home town of Kakhovka in southern Ukraine has been occupied by Moscow forces since the early days of the invasion, which Russia calls a special military operation.
'That's the motto: the future is bright. This year hopefully I can play better in Australian Open and go further and show some good tennis.'
Novak Djokovic was seriously rattled early on by inspired American teenager Nishesh Basavareddy but rallied for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory on Monday.
Factbox on Italy's Jannik Sinner, who beat Germany's Alexander Zverev 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-3 in the Australian Open final
Alexander Zverev won the first set 7-6, but Novak Djokovic has been forced to withdraw from the match due to injury from the Australian Open semi-final on Friday.
Rafael Nadal looked razor sharp again during his latest meeting with qualifier Thiem
Aryna Sabalenka overwhelmed Paula Badosa 6-4, 6-2 with a impressive display of raw power to reach her third successive Australian Open final on Thursday.
Ferrari's underwhelming pace was a surprise to their rivals and to Hamilton, whose quickest lap in the final qualifying session (Q3) was nearly nine-tenths of a second slower than Norris's.
'It's one of the most epic matches I have played on this court, on any court really.'
McLaren's Lando Norris swept to victory in a wet and wild Australian Grand Prix on Sunday, holding off defending champion Max Verstappen in a white-knuckle finish to a Formula One season-opener littered with crashes and safety cars.
Images from Day 7 of the 2024 Australian Open in Melbourne on Saturday.
Halep, who held the WTA year-end top ranking in 2017 and 2018, has not lost a set in her first week at Melbourne Park and was aggressive against Putintseva from the outset.
Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka and Madison Keys made rocky starts on Thursday but eventually secured contrasting victories to set up a heavy metal Australian Open final showdown
Madison Keys blasted her way into the Australian Open semi-finals for a third time as the American continues her bid for a first Grand Slam title.
Images from Day 1 of the Australian Open.
Jannik Sinner retained his Australian Open title with an emphatic 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-3 win over Alexander Zverev on Sunday
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