Adelaide International: Ashleigh Barty beats Kenin, storms into semi-finals
What's the story
World number one Ashleigh Barty stormed into the semi-finals of the Adelaide International after beating Sofia Kenin on Friday. Barty downed the 2020 Australian Open champion in straight sets (6-3, 6-4). The former registered a career-best 17 aces in the match. Barty, who won the 2020 Adelaide International, will take on the champion of the 2021 edition, Iga Swiatek, in the semi-finals.
Context
Why does this story matter?
Barty was on a roll in the 2021 season (42-8). She won five singles titles, Melbourne Open, Miami Open, Stuttgart Open, Wimbledon, and Cincinnati Masters. She seems to be carrying her form in the following season. The Australian is another step closer to the title in Adelaide. She beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Marketa Vondrousova, Danielle Collins, and Dayana Yastremska en route to her 2020 title.
Match
Key stats of the match
Barty defeated Kenin in just 68 minutes. While Barty smashed 17 aces, the latter registered just two. The Australian won a total of 69 points in the match. As per WTA, Barty finished with a success rate of 97% on the first serve (31/32) in the second set. Barty didn't miss a first-service point until she was 3-2 in the second set.
Swiatek
Swiatek overcame Victoria Azarenka
Swiatek, who will meet Barty in the penultimate clash, overcame Victoria Azarenka 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 in nearly two hours. Notably, Azarenka became the first player to take a set off Swiatek in Adelaide. However, the latter made it one-sided in the deciding set. Swiatek now maintains an eight-match winning streak in Adelaide (women's singles). The Polish defeated Belinda Bencic to win 2021 Adelaide International.
Information
Barty vs Swiatek: Here is the head-to-head record
Swiatek and Barty will clash in the semi-finals on Saturday. The two players have met only once on the WTA tour. The Australian beat Swiatek 7-5, 6-4 in Madrid last year. Barty finished as the runner-up after losing to Aryna Sabalenka.