Paes bows out of Oz Open

MELBOURNE: Veteran Leander Paes' last Australian Open outing came to and end after he and partner Jelena Ostapenko were knocked out of the mixed doubles competition, going down in straight sets to Jamie Murray and Bethanie Matteksands here on Tuesday. The 46-year-old Paes and Lativia's Ostapenko, the 2017 French Open champion, lost to the British-american pair 2-6 5-7 in a second round match that lasted one hour and seven minutes. encounter on centre court with the 38-year-old Swiss legend.

Federer has made heavy weather of reaching his 46th Major semi-final. He was two points from defeat by John Millman in a fifth-set tiebreaker in round three, and dropped a set against 67thranked Marton Fucsovics in round four.

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.

This was revenge for the 23-year-old Barty after twotime 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.

Barty is attempting to become the first Australian woman since Chris O'neil in 1978 win the women's title Down Under. Kvitova, 29, who suffered severe injury to her left playing hand in a knife attack at her home in 2016, and Barty went toe-to-toe in a crucial seventh game of the first set. In a game stretching to nearly 10 minutes, Barty fought off five break points to hold serve at Rod Laver Arena, to roars of approval.

In a tense encounter they went to the tie-break, but it was Kvitova who blinked, shanking a forehand long to give Barty the set in 69 high-quality minutes. Barty, who once gave up tennis to play professional cricket, clenched her fist. Kvitova tossed her racquet into air.

Barty pulled away in the second set as Kvitova wilted in the Melbourne sun. The Australian sealed the deal with her trademark

Ashleigh Barty

minimum fuss, booking her spot in the last four with an ace.

Earlier Kenin, Coco Gauff 's conqueror, reached her first Major semi-final as the American ended the historic run of

Sofia Kenin

Tunisian Ons Jabeur.

The Moscow-born 21-yearold, who defeated 15-year-old Gauff in the previous round, saw off the unseeded Jabeur 6-4, 6-4 and said that she was "super-excited".