Ash Barty has stormed into the Madrid Open semi-finals after downing two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova.
The Australian World No. 1 continued her recent fine form, beating Kvitova 6-1 3-6 6-3 to set up an encounter with Paula Badosa for a place in the finale.
The win is the first time Barty has taken down the World No. 12 in their past five matches.
"I think Petra and I, we respect each other as tennis players, and I respect her immensely as a person. I love who she is as a person," Barty said after the Madrid match.
"On the court it's more than just about the result. I think we love to compete, we love to test each other, we love to test ourselves."
Too good today @ashbarty 👏
— Petra Kvitova (@Petra_Kvitova) May 5, 2021
Proud of my tournament here in Madrid - hasta la proxima! 🇪🇸@MutuaMadridOpen pic.twitter.com/lN6TOQ6hix
The victory over Kvitova continues an incredible 15-game streak on the red clay court that began with Barty's start to the 2019 French Open, which she won.
Barty carries some stellar form into her match-up with Badosa, who she lost to in last month's Charlestown Open quarter-finals in straight sets.
“We played a couple of weeks ago and she played a great match, so it’s time for me to try and change the result,” Barty said of facing Babosa again.
“I’m very excited to be in the semi-finals here in Madrid and get another opportunity to play on this court and play a girl who's playing some great tennis, is confident, takes the game one, is aggressive — it’s going to be exciting.”
Barty's form on the European circuit offers the perfect preparation for this month's French Open, after she didn't take part in last year's grand slam due to COVID-19 concerns.
The 25-year-old took home the Stuttgart Open title a fortnight ago after beating big-hitting Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka in the final, which followed her Miami Open victory back in early last month.
