MELBOURNE, Australia: Ash Barty was the crowd favorite at Melbourne Park long before she ended a 42-year drought by reaching the Australian Open final. Now that she's become the first Australian woman into the final here since Wendy Turnbull in 1980, Barty has a good chance to claim her first on a hard court. Barty lost to eventual champion Sofia Kenin in 2020 the last time she reached the Australian Open semifinals. Barty hit 20 winners to only eight for Keys, who was playing in the Australian Open semifinals for the first time since 2015. Barty converted four of her six break-point opportunities and saved the only two break points she faced on her serve against the 2017 US Open champion runner-up.

Source: Manila Times January 28, 2022 22:15 UTC