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.
World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka fended off a serious challenge from Anastasia Potapova to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open.
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.
Kristina Mladenovic and Ivan Dodig swept to a 6-3, 6-4 victory
Twelfth seed Patty Schnyder of Switzerland fought back to upset sixth seed Elena Dementieva 6-7, 7-6, 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals.
Andy Roddick and Guillermo Coria raced into the fourth round with crushing victories.
The Wimbledon champion crushed China's Li Na 6-0, 6-2 to become the fifth Russian woman to reach the fourth round.
The top seed began her Australian Open quest with a pulverising 6-0, 6-0 win over 15-year-old Olivia Lukaszewicz on Monday.
Russia's fourth seed Daniil Medvedev crushed Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets to set up a title clash with Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open in Melbourne on Friday.
Rafael Nadal weathered an early serving storm from Kevin Anderson before dismantling the South African giant with a 7-5, 6-1, 6-4 masterclass to reach the quarter-finals of the Australian Open on Sunday.
World No 1 and top seed Serena Williams was knocked out of the Australian Open by Serbian Ana Ivanovic on Sunday.
Germany's Tommy Haas beat third seed Nikolay Davydenko 6-3, 2-6, 1-6, 6-1, 7-5 to enter the semi-final.
Serena Williams battled her way into the Australian Open semi-finals with a 3-6, 6-2, 8-6 win over Israeli Shahar Peer.
Marcos Baghdatis failed to repeat his heroics of last year and was beaten by Frenchman Gael Monfils in the second round of the Australian Open.
Djokovic, seeking a record-extending ninth title in Melbourne, was cruising after winning the opening two sets of his third-round clash but a slip at 1-1 in the third set almost derailed his progress.
Check out Aryna Sabalenka's delightful Australian Open trophy photoshoot
Veteran tennis star Leander Paes and his partner Martina Hingis, who won the Australian Open mixed doubles title last month, met India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Thursday.
Top seeds Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend claimed the women's doubles crown at the Australian Open
Jannik Sinner overcame a debilitating medical episode as well as Dane Holger Rune to reach the quarter-finals of the Australian Open for the third time.
With the victory, Herbert and Mahut added the Melbourne Park title to their US Open, Wimbledon and French Open crowns to complete the career Grand Slam.
Australian Stosur, who has a history of suffering attacks of nerves in front of home fans, struggled to serve out the match at Rod Laver Arena and double-faulted on match point.
Hungarian Timea Babos and France's Kristina Mladenovic defeated Russian duo Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina 6-4, 6-3 to win the women's doubles title at the Australian Open on Friday.
Svitolina wants to give Ukraine a 'little light' after reaching quarter-finals
Andy Murray embarks on his first Grand Slam campaign as world number one with much stronger title credentials, even if he has lost five finals at Melbourne Park.
Djokovic has never failed to win the tournament after making the semi-finals and he will be heavily favoured to claim a record-extending ninth title at his favourite Slam on Sunday.
Karen Khachanov reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open for the first time on Tuesday after ailing American Sebastian Korda retired while trailing 7-6(5), 6-3, 3-0.
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.
On Sunday, Rafael Nadal's extraordinary resilience was on full display as he closed out a marathon five-setter against World No 2 Daniil Medvedev.
This milestone underscores his longevity and commitment to the sport, especially considering the physical and mental demands of playing at the top level.
Coco Gauff was given a solid workout by former champion Sofia Kenin but continued her lengthy winning streak
Serena Williams ended the fairytale run of Mirjana Lucic-Baroni at the Australian Open on Thursday with a crushing 6-2, 6-1 win that set up a final against her sister Venus.
Federer rues missed chances in Tsitsipas thriller
Photos from Day 1 of the Australian Open matches played at Melbourne Park on Monday
A win for Djokovic would move him past Pete Sampras (14) to outright third on the list of Grand Slam title winners.
Security officials promptly made a human shield around the players as some others dragged the person
