MY ACCOUNT
Ash Barty was in clinical form to swat aside Jessica Pegula 6-2 6-0 in just 63 minutes and book her spot in the Australian Open semi-finals.
The world number one is still to drop a set at her home slam in Melbourne and made easy work of her opponent as Barty continued her bid to become the first female Australian singles champion since Chris O’Neil in 1978.
Barty won nine games in a row from 3-2 up in the first set to take complete command and she can now prepare for a semi-final showdown with another American in the form of Madison Keys.
A nervy-looking Pegula was rushing her shots in the early exchanges and Barty broke in the first game when a forehand cross set up a break point chance that her opponent put into the net.
Barty had chalked up 12 unforced errors by game four, but it was her aggressive tactics that had Pegula completely on the ropes and when a thumping forehand set up another break point in game seven, it was little surprise when it was converted.
By this point Barty was in complete command and Pegula had no answer to the variety of shots her opponent rained down on her.
The second set raced by in just 28 minutes, with Barty putting the finishing touch on a mightily impressive performance when Pegula put a return long on the second match point.
“Jess is an incredible person and a brilliant girl. I love to test myself against her. She’s had sensational couple of years, she’s definitely a top-20 player, there’s plenty more to come for sure,” Barty said after the match.
On reaching the semis in Melbourne for the second time after doing so in 2020, she added: “I’ve grown as a person, as a player, I’m a more complete tennis player.
“Credit to my team, they do so much work behind the scenes to make me the best version of myself, I love playing out here. Hopefully I’ve got a little bit more left.”
DATA SLAM: Barty serves up a treat again
Barty defeated both Pegula and Keys en route to winning her maiden slam title at the 2019 French Open and history could be repeating itself here with the world number one playing arguably the best tennis of her career.
Behind her dominance is phenomenal success on serve. Barty is still yet to drop a set in Melbourne, and went 63 games without being broken before Amanda Anisimova did so in the previous round. Here, she lost just five points on first serve (22 of 27, 81 per cent) and gave up just a solitary break-point opportunity in the match.
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Barty – 17/22
Pegula – 7/26
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Barty – 6/2
Pegula – 1/3
BREAK POINTS WON
Barty – 5/9
Pegula – 0/1
