Australian star Barty falls in bid to win her home Slam
Top-ranked Ash Barty built a big lead in her quarterfinal match at the Australian Open before her opponent took an injury timeout and left the court.
More than an hour later, it was Barty heading abruptly out the exit. She was upset Wednesday (Australia time) by Karolina Muchova, 1-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Seeded No. 25, Muchova earned her first semifinal berth in a Grand Slam. Her comeback win ended Barty’s bid to become the first Australian woman to win the title in Melbourne since Chris O’Neil in 1978.
Muchova’s opponent Thursday will be the winner of the last quarterfinal, an all-American matchup between No. 22-seeded Jennifer Brady and unseeded Jessica Pegula.
Muchova played poorly at the start of her second major quarterfinal, and Barty raced to a 5-0 lead while losing only six points. After nine games, Muchova had one winner and 18 un- forced errors, and early in the second set, she took an injury timeout that lasted nearly 10 minutes.
“I started feeling a bit lost,” Muchova said. “Ash started very good. She played almost like no mistakes; it was very tough. I was a bit lost on the court and my head was spinning, so I took a break. And it helped me.”
Barty had no complaints about Muchova’s reason for halting play.
“It’s within the rules,” Barty said. “She’s within her rights to take that time. That shouldn’t be a massive turning point in the match. I’m disappointed I let that be a turning point.”
Medical personnel took her temperature, checked her blood pressure and gave her ice before she left the court. When the Czech returned, she played much better.
“I tried to play a bit faster rallies so we don’t play long ones as in the first set,” Muchova said, “and it worked well.”
Comebacks have been a staple in the tournament for Muchova, who rallied in earlier matches to win sets after trailing 5-0 and 4-0.
Against Barty, she began moving into the court to hit her groundstrokes earlier. Barty, pushed behind the baseline, became indecisive and erratic.
During one stretch Muchova won eight of nine games. Barty finished with 37 unforced errors and lost serve four times in the final two sets.
Muchova’s only other victory over a top-five was against No. 3 Karolina Pliskova at Wimbledon in 2019.
• Serena Williams was not pleased with the way her play suddenly was
slipping in the Australian Open quarterfinals.
After one mistake against No. 2 seed Simona Halep — who won the last time they played each other — Williams pointed at her racket strings and made a sour face, as if to indicate it wasn’t her fault. After another, Williams looked up at her guest box with palms up and asked, “What is happening?”
That dismay didn’t last long. Williams recalibrated her shots with the help of terrific footwork, overcame 33 unforced errors and claimed the last five games, beating Halep 6-3, 6-3 Tuesday to return to the final four at Melbourne Park for the first time since she won the tournament in 2017. That was her most recent Grand Slam title.
“I just realized I was making a lot of unforced errors in those games that I lost. And I knew that I had an opportunity to play better,” said Williams, now two wins away from claiming her record-tying 24th major singles championship. “So I was just like, ‘Just stay in there. You just can keep going.’ And that’s what I just did.”
She set up a showdown against No. 3 Naomi Osaka, a three-time Slam champ who will carry a 19-match
winning streak into tonight’s semifinals.
“She’s Serena,” Osaka said. “I feel really intimidated when I see her on the other side of the court.”
This will be their fourth matchup.
Displaying the improved movement that coach Patrick Mouratoglou says has been a point of emphasis and Williams says is a result of a problematic left Achilles tendon finally healing, the 39-yearold American covered the court impeccably. She stretched points with defense, trying to take time away from Halep.
“I know that, throughout my career, speed has been one thing that’s been super good in my game,” Williams said.
Williams is 0-4 in Grand Slam finals since her last championship.
• Defending champion Novak Djokovic beat sixthseeded Alexander Zverev 6-7 (6), 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (6) to reach the semifinals for the ninth time. The topranked Djokovic will next play Aslan Karatsev after the No. 114-ranked Russian qualifier beat Grigor Dimitrov to become the first man in the professional era to reach the semifinals at his first Grand Slam tournament.