Ashleigh Barty eases past Jessica Pegula to set up Madison Keys semi-final at 2022 Australian Open

Ashleigh Barty swept past Jessica Pegula to move into the semi-finals of the Australian Open. The world No 1, bidding to become the first Australian to win in Melbourne since Chris O’Neill in 1978, won 6-2 6-0 in just over an hour. Ad/> Barty will next face another American, Madison Keys, as she bids to reach the Australian Open final for the first time.

Australian OpenBarty prevails in straight sets over Anisimova to reach quarter-finals23/01/2022 AT 09:46 Barty, who also made the semi-finals in 2020 when she lost to Sofia Kenin, is yet to drop a set in five matches. “That was solid tonight. I had a lot of fun out here," said Barty in her on-court interview.

«I was able to serve and find a lot of forehands in the centre of the court and I was happy to take the game on, be aggressive on my forehand, not worry if I miss a couple, as long as I’m doing the right things.» Tears to smiles — Kyrgios hits kid in crowd with wild shot, gives gift to say sorry The must-watch interview and moody Medvedev – AO Diary Barty wasn’t at her very best against Pegula but didn’t need to be as the American struggled to find her range and committed 26 unforced errors against just seven winners. A break in the opening game of the match set the tone as Barty moved into the lead. Pegula had a chance to break back in the fourth game but snatched at a second serve.

That was to be Pegula's only break-point chance of the match as she was unable to take advantage of Barty's level dropping midway through the opening set. Once Barty clinched the first set with a love hold it was one-way traffic as she raced through the second set in just 25 minutes. Asked about the prospect of facing Keys, who she beat on her way to winning the French Open in 2019,