Ashleigh Barty has also won her fourth match at the Australian Open without losing a set. The world number 1 defeated American Amanda Anisimova 6-4 6-3. Barty lost a service for the first time this tournament at the start of the second set, but immediately recovered.
Anisimova had defeated Japanese title defender Naomi Osaka one round earlier. The 20-year-old American had started the Australian Open with a hard-fought victory over Dutch qualifier Arianne Hartono and then dealt with Olympic champion Belinda Bencic from Switzerland. Anisimova was unable to continue her stunt against Osaka against Barty, whom she had already lost in the semifinals of Roland Garros in 2019.
The Australian placed a break in the first set at 3-3 and thus won the set. At the start of the second set, Barty handed in her service. With that, a run of 63 service games won, which started at the preparatory tournament in Adelaide, came to an end. Barty was only broken there in her first match, against Cori Gauff.
The leader of the world ranking did not get upset and immediately broke back Anisimova. After a second break for Barty at 3-3, Anisimova’s resistance was over. Barty will meet another American, Jessica Pegula, in the quarterfinals. She surprised fifth seed Maria Sakkari from Greece: 7-6 (0) 6-3. Barty hopes to become the first Australian winner of the Australian Open since Chris O’Neil in 1978.
Rod Laver Arena
Madison Keys and Jessica Pegula also reached the quarterfinals. Keys surprised Spain’s Paula Badosa in the Rod Laver Arena, the number 6 in the world who won the WTA tournament in Sydney (6-3 6-1) in the run-up to the Australian Open. Pegula, the number 21 of the seeding list, beat Maria Sakkari: 7-6 (0) 6-3. The Greek is placed fifth in Melbourne.
Keys, 26, reached the semifinals of the Australian Open in 2015 and reached the final of the US Open two years later. The American belonged to the global top 10 in that period, but has now dropped to place 51. At the Australian Open, the unseeded Keys shows convincing tennis. “I’m enjoying the sport again,” said the American, who will face fourth-seeded Barbora Krejcikova in the quarterfinals. The Czech defeated two-time Australian Open winner Victoria Azarenka from Belarus (6-2 6-2).
Pegula surprisingly made it to the quarter-finals in Melbourne last year and is now back in the last eight. The world No. 21 was too strong for global No. 8 Sakkari in Margaret Court Arena. “This was my best match of the year,” said Pegula, who may now face Australia No. 1 in the world Ashleigh Barty in the quarterfinals.
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