The world’s number one Ashleigh Barty qualified for the final of the Australian Open for the first time in her career. The representative of the hosts achieved her sixth consecutive straight-set victory in Melbourne after in the semi-finals she eliminated the American Madison Keys with 2-0 (6:1, 6:3) for 64 minutes. Thus, Ashleigh Barty enters the final battle without losing a set and with only 21 games conceded in the six matches so far, and in the final, she will face the winner of the other semi-final, which opposes Iga Swiatek and Danielle Collins.
Ashleigh Barty rewrote the history of Australian tennis, becoming the first host representative in 42 years to reach the final of the first Grand Slam tournament for the year. She will also have the chance to become the first Australian since Christine O’Neil in 1978 to win the Australian Open trophy.
The traditional dominance of the Australian at the AO 2022 was visible also in today’s match against Madison Keys, in which she imposed total control over what is happening on the court. Ashleigh Barty made three breaks in the first set on the way to winning it with a crushing 6:1.
In the second set, the American had only one chance to break the serve of her opponent at 2:2, but the world’s number one reflected the breakpoint with confidence. Immediately after the missed opportunity, Madison Keys broke down and allowed a break against her serve, as the winner of two Grand Slam titles had no problem closing the match in her favor after 6:1, 6:3.
The 25-year-old Australian was almost flawless in her first serve, with an 81% success rate with 24/28 points. Barty was also much more accurate in her shots than Madison Keys, recording 20 winners shots and 13 unforced errors, while the 51st in the world reported with only 8 winners and a total of 24 unforced errors.
