MELBOURNE, Jan 28: Ash Barty stormed into her maiden Australian Open semi-finals on Tuesday with an emphatic 7-6(6) 6-2 win over Petra Kvitova that avenged her defeat to the hard-hitting Czech in last year’s quarter-final at Melbourne Park.
Thrashed 6-1 6-4 by Kvitova last year, top seed Barty rode a wave of crowd support as she defused the twice Wimbledon champion’s power game before running away with the contest on a glorious afternoon at Rod Laver Arena.
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French Open champion Barty saved two break points serving for the match, then sealed the win with an ace to become the first Australian woman to reach the semi-finals at Melbourne Park since Wendy Turnbull in 1984.
Barty will play 14th seeded American Sofia Kenin, who earlier beat Ons Jabeur, for a place in the final.
