Ash Barty overwhelmed Sofia Kenin in the quarterfinals of the Adelaide International to move within two wins of a second title in the South Australian capital.
Barty, the Adelaide champion in 2020, served her way to a 6-3 6-4 victory over the American, who had won two of her past three meetings with the world No.1.
The most recent of those came in the semifinals of Australian Open 2020, a tournament Kenin went on to win to claim her first major title.
But on Friday in Adelaide, Barty ensured there would be no repeat of that surprise result.
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“It felt pretty good today. I was able to look after my service games pretty well, and it was a lot of fun playing out here again, to get some more court time and start to feel a little bit better,” said Barty, who required three sets to get past Coco Gauff in her opening match.
“It’s nice to come out here and really be tested right from the start and know that you have to bring your very best level.
“Looking at both of these last two matches, there’s still work to do; we go back to the drawing board and continue to try and do all the right things.
“But it’s been a really solid start and we’re happy with the foundation that we’ve kind of set to start the year off.”
Barty will enjoy another opportunity to test herself, this time in the semifinals, against defending champion Iga Swiatek, who overcame Victoria Azarenka in three sets in their Friday night blockbuster.
“I can play without any expectations against Ash. She’s a great player,” Swiatek said.
“I don’t know if audience is going to be against me, because there are so many Polish people (supporting me in Adelaide). So hopefully it’s going to be like an even battle.
“But tennis wise I feel like I’m in the right place, and that’s the most important thig for me.”
If Barty serves the way she did against Kenin, she will be tough to stop.
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At one stage, the Australian was a flawless 22 from 22 on first-serve points won, and slammed her 14th ace to take a 6-3 4-2 lead.
Up the other end of the court was a dispirited Kenin, who finished the first set with only six winners against an unsightly 16 unforced errors – a ratio which improved only slightly in the second set.
Less than 24 hours earlier, Kenin had trailed Barty’s countrywoman Ajla Tomljanovic 6-3 5-3, ultimately saving three match points on her way to completing an epic comeback.
She found herself in exactly the same position against Barty, but there was to be no escape against this particular Aussie.
Barty stepped up to the line to serve for the match at 6-3 5-4 and closed out victory in a tidy 68 minutes.
It was a performance highlighted by 30 winners – 17 of those were aces – against just 14 errors, and a first-serve winning percentage of 97.
She did not face a single break point as she improved her head-to-head record against Kenin to 5-2.
Swiatek remains undefeated in Adelaide
In the first match of Friday’s evening session, 2020 Roland Garros champion Swiatek came up against two-time Australian Open champion Azarenka.
And the level the two women produced in the opening set was fitting of a match-up between major champions.
Swiatek stormed out to a 3-1 lead and although she lost serve in the very next game, she broke Azarenka again late in the first set to improve her record of sets won and lost in Adelaide to a perfect 15-0.
Azarenka rebounded impressively in the second, her returning especially effective as the young Pole conceded her first set in eight career matches at Memorial Drive Tennis Centre.
But she faded physically in the third, while Swiatek was ruthless, powering to a 6-3 2-6 6-1 win in just under two hours.
“I knew it’s gonna be tough for sure,” Swiatek said of facing Azarenka, who won their only previous meeting in the third round of the 2020 US Open.
“The most important thing for me was not letting her into the match, and I feel like I did a little mistake of doing that in the second set. So I got stressed a little bit, because when you play against such experienced players, it’s always hard because they’re going to use every opportunity to just take initiative.
“So I’m really happy that I came back in third set, because it gives me a lot of confidence.”
Earlier in the day, seventh seed Elena Rybakina became the first women’s semifinalist at the Adelaide International courtesy of a 3-6 6-3 6-2 win over Shelby Rogers.
Rybakina, who last year beat Serena Williams to reach her first major quarterfinal at Roland Garros, will face Misaki Doi – a three-set winner over Kaja Juvan – for a place in the final.
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