Melbourne: Ashleigh Barty will play 14th-seeded American Sofia Kenin in the Australian Open semi-finals after the world number one defeated Petra Kvitova in straight sets on Tuesday.
The top seed and last remaining Australian in the tournament survived a tough opening set to beat the Czech seventh seed 7-6 (8/6), 6-2 and reach the semi-finals for the first time. She also in the process became the first Oz in 36 years to reach the semi-finals of the Australian Open.
This was revenge for the 23-year-old Barty after two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova beat her at the same stage last year in Melbourne.
But the down-to-earth Australian is a better player than 12 months ago, winning the French Open last year and hitting the top of the rankings for the first time.
"It's been absolutely incredible. I knew that I had to bring my best today against Petra, and that first set was crucial," said Barty.
![Ashleigh Barty](https://etvbharatimages.akamaized.net/etvbharat/prod-images/5867531_barty.jpg)
Barty is attempting to become the first Australian woman since Chris O'Neil in 1978 win the women's title Down Under.