World number one Ashleigh Barty is ready for the semifinals of a Wimbledon tournament for the first time. He made short work of the unseeded Ajla Tomljanovic on Tuesday.
Barty won 6-1, 6-3 in her first All-Australian Grand Slam quarter-final in 41 years. The match lasted only one hour and six minutes. Barty dreams of marking the 50th anniversary of Emma Goolagong’s Wimbledon victory by lifting the trophy on Saturday.
Barty wears a costume inspired by the Goolagong worn in 1971. Both have their roots in Indigenous Australia.
75th-ranked Tomljanovic sent England’s 18-year-old favorite Emma Raducanu out of the tournament in the quarter-finals on Monday, but she stands no chance against Barty on a first day with full stands after further easing of coroner restrictions.
Go out
“Everyone in the house should be proud of him, and happy to share a course with him today,” said Barty generously of her opponent who was three years her senior.
25-year-old Barty won the junior class at Wimbledon in 2011, but she never made it past the fourth round of a singles tournament as a senior. On Thursday, she will face Angelique Kerber in the semifinals. The German beat Karolina Muchova in straight sets.
– He’s going to test me. “Angie has had success here before and I knew I had to come out on top to stand a chance,” said Barty.
Full stand
“I know how to play on grass, and this is a magical place for me,” Kerber said after increasing her winning streak to 10 games, all on grass.
In the second semifinal, 2nd seed Aryna Sabalenka faced Karolina Pliskova. The Belarusian beat Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur in straight sets, while Pliskova handled Viktorija Golubic.
Pliskova and Golubic are the first to exercise in front of the full stands in England since the coronavirus pandemic hit in March last year. That means 15,000 spectators in midfield.
(©NTB)
“Certified introvert. Devoted internet fanatic. Subtly charming troublemaker. Thinker.”
