MELBOURNE-Top-ranked Ash Barty built a big lead in her quarterfinal match at the Australian Open before her opponent took a medical timeout and left the court.
More than an hour later, it was Barty heading abruptly through the exit. She was upset Wednesday 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. “It’s heartbreaking, of course,” Barty said. “But the sun will come up tomorrow. You’re either winning or you’re learning, and today is a massive learning curve for me.”
Muchova’s opponent Thursday will be Jennifer Brady, who beat fellow American and good friend Jessica Pegula 4-6, 6-2, 6-1. Brady reached her second consecutive Grand Slam semifinal. “I hope I make it a habit,” she said. “Hopefully I have a new habit of making finals.” Seeded 22nd, Brady struggled at times and gave her racket an angry toss midway through the second set. “We’re such good friends,” Brady said. “I’m really happy for her success. I know we’ll be having a lot more tough battles.”
Rafael Nadal entered his Australian Open quarterfinal with a 223-1 record when grabbing the first two sets of a Grand Slam match. Thanks to his own mistakes — and some spirited play by Stefanos Tsitsipas — that mark is now 223-2. A couple of uncharacteristically sloppy overheads and a framed backhand in a third-set tiebreaker began Nadal’s undoing, and his bid here for a men’s-record 21st major championship eventually ended Wednesday with 3-6, 2-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4, 7-5 loss to the younger, sharper Tsitsipas.
“Was little bit of everything, no? I missed a couple of balls in the tiebreak that I shouldn’t — that I could not — miss if I want to win. And that’s it,” said Nadal, who briefly left the Spanish portion of his post-match news conference after clutching at his cramping right hamstring. “I have to go back home,” Nadal said, “and practice to be better.”
At his put-the-ball-where-he-wants-it best in the early going, Nadal went ahead rather easily, winning 27 consecutive points on his serve in one stretch and running his streak of consecutive sets won at major tournaments to 35, one shy of Roger Federer’s record for the professional era. Nadal and Federer are currently tied at 20 Grand Slam singles titles, more than any other man in the history of a sport that dates to the late 1800s.
But Tsitsipas never wavered and that surprisingly poor tiebreaker by Nadal helped hand over the third set and begin the comeback. Nadal made a total of only 10 unforced errors in the first two sets combined, then 32 the rest of the way — 11 in the third, 14 in the fourth, seven in the fifth.Tsitsipas will meet 2019 US Open runner-up Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals Friday. Neither Tsitsipas nor Medvedev has won a Grand Slam tournament. Russian Daniil Medvedev outclassed friend and compatriot Andrey Rublev 7-5, 6-3, 6-2 in sweltering conditions to secure a spot in the Australian Open semi-finals and extend his winning streak to 19 matches. Next up for the ATP Finals winner will be a last-four meeting against either Spaniard Rafa Nadal or Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Meanwhile, Russian qualifier Aslan Karatsev will meet world number one Novak Djokovic in the other semi-final on Thursday, with the prospect of an all-Russian men’s final looming on Sunday.
Follow the PNI Facebook page for the latest news and updates.
