World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty is within two victories of achieving a crowning moment in her career after another dominant display at the Australian Open on Tuesday. The 25-year-old reached the semi-finals at Melbourne Park for the second time in three years after blitzing past American Jessica Pegula 6-2, 6-0 in just over an hour.
After fulfilling a childhood dream by winning Wimbledon last year, Barty will now play another American in Madison Keys on Thursday for a spot in the final. Barty, who is aiming to become the first local since Chris O’Neil in 1978 to win the Australian Open, is yet to drop a set in this tournament and is unbeaten in 2022.
The former French Open champion reeled off the last nine games against Pegula and she was delighted with her form. “That was solid tonight. I had a lot of fun out here. I was able to serve well and find a lot of forehands in the centre of the court and I was delighted to take the game on,” she said.
The Australian believes she is a superior player now to when she was beaten by eventual champion Sofia Kenin in a semi-final in Melbourne in 2020. “I have grown as a person. I have grown as a player. I feel like I am a more complete player,” she said. “I have a couple of more years of experience under my belt in handling different experiences and problem solving out on the court.”
Having wallowed in a “deep, dark pit of despair” last season, Keys booked her first grand slam semi-final spot in four years with a 6-3, 6-2 upset of Barbora Krejcikova.
Keys’ renaissance after a dismal 2021 season has lit up Melbourne Park this year, and at a baking hot Rod Laver Arena fourth seed Krejcikova became another casualty of the American’s new-found confidence and traditional firepower.
Keys told an on-court interviewer she thought she might cry.
“It means a lot. Last year was really hard and I did everything that I could with my team to just really reset this off-season and focus on starting fresh and new and really just starting from zero and not worrying about last year.
“Wow, that’s gone well so far. I’m really proud of myself and so thankful to my team and my friends and my family for helping me through what was a really tough year last year.”
Berrettini’s battle
Seventh seed Matteo Berrettini found a higher gear in the face of a heroic fightback from France’s Gael Monfils to script a 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 3-6, 6-2 win on Tuesday and become the first Italian man to reach the Australian Open semi-finals.
The 25-year-old, who reached last year’s final at Wimbledon, will take on Rafael Nadal for a place in Sunday’s final at the Rod Laver Arena.
Sania run ends
India star Sania Mirza’s appearance at the Australian Open ended with a quarter-final loss to local duo Jaimee Fourlis and Jason Kubler in the mixed doubles event. Sania, partnering American Rajeev Ram, lost 4-6, 6-7 to the wildcard entrants in one hour and 30 minutes.
