“She Deserves To Be at the Top”: Ashleigh Barty on Her Next Opponent Madison Keys at Australian Open 2022

Ashleigh Barty proved yet again why she is World No. 1. She demolished Jessica Pegula 6-2, 6-0 in her quarterfinal match at the Rod Laver Arena. She took just 1 hour and 3 minutes to make it to the semifinals of the Australian Open 2022.

Barty said she had a lot of fun

As is Barty’s style, she went through the match methodically, clinching the important points against 21st seed Pegula. She got the better of five of the 9 breakpoints that she got and won 63 points in total to Pegula’s 38. Pegula struggled to find her rhythm, made 26 crucial unforced errors, and managed to hit only 7 winners.

Ashleigh Barty’s win ensures her appearance at the semifinals at the Australian Open. Her first appearance came in 2020, when she lost in the semifinals to Sofia Kenin, who then went on to win the title.

When asked by Jim Courier in her courtside interview, she said that she had grown as a person and her time on the tour and experience had helped her become a “more complete player.” According to her, this was the best she’d played in the tournament so far, and she mentioned that it was Pegula who forced her to play aggressively and well.

Also read: Rafael Nadal Achieves Yet Another Milestone Surpassing Andre Agassi on Reaching the Australian Open 2022 Semifinal

Ashleigh Barty thinks her next opponent is a top player

While she is aiming to win her home Grand Slam, in Barty’s road to the finals stands Madison Keys. When asked how she felt about her semi-final clash, Barty, ever-so-nice, had only good words to share about the American.

Barty went to praise Keys for who she is as a person and gave the impression that she was close to the American on tour. She also said this about Keys: “She is a top player, she deserves to be at the top of the game.”

Unseeded Keys upset No. 4 Barbora Krejcikova to make her spot in the semifinals.

“It means a lot,” said Keys, 26, who achieved a career-high ranking of No. 7 early in her career. “Last year was really hard, and I did everything I could with my team to really reset this off-season and focus on starting fresh and new and really just starting from zero and not worrying about last year. And wow, that’s going well so far,” she added.