On Friday, World number one Ashleigh Barty beat Barbora Krejcikova 6-2, 6-4 and reached the WTA and ATP Cincinnati semi-finals. Barty recovered from a breakdown recently.
Ashleigh will face two-line Cincinnati finalist Angelique Kerber. Kerber won her quarterfinal with two-time Wimbledon Champion Petra Kvitova retired during the second set because of a stomach problem. The second set was a tie with 3-3 and Kerber won the first set 6-4.
Barty has been ranked in the number one position for the last 87 weeks. She hasn’t lost a set this week in Cincinnati which is an up event for the U.S. Open. She said in an interview that this is actually why she is here, to have a lot of good matches against the best players before stepping in the US Open. She said she is even excited to play against Ash again.
Her biggest challenge of the week was from Heather Watson in the second round. Barty has since dispatched Victoria Azarenka and Krejcikova in straight sets. She won in the scorching heat and humidity in the morning’s first match at the Lindner Family Tennis Center.
