Australian Open: ‘Ridiculous’ Barty breaks 42-year Aussie curse

Ash Barty is the first Aussie woman to reach the final of the Australian Open since 1980 with a performance that has stunned the world.

Ash Barty is in the final. Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images.

Ash Barty has become just the sixth Aussie woman to progress through to the final of the Australian Open after she blew Madison Keys off the court on Thursday night.

The World No. 1 wrapped the match up 6-1 6-3 in a 62-minute masterclass and will now meet Danielle Collins in the final after the American powered past Iga Swiatek in the second semi-final played on Thursday night.

Meanwhile, Dylan Alcott is retiring as a champion even after his party was crashed by rival Sam Schroder in a thrilling men’s quad wheelchair final on Thursday night.

The Australian of the Year is leaving the court for the final time after he was upset 7-5 6-0 in a result that has completely deflated the home Aussie crowd at Melbourne Park.

Earlier, Australian duo Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis — affectionately known as the Special Ks — secured their spot in the men’s doubles final with an entertaining straight sets victory.

‘Ridiculous’ Barty blows the world away in semi-final demolition

Ash Barty has done a number on friendly rival Madison Keys, blasting her way into the Australian Open women’s singles final, to be held at Rod Laver Arena on Saturday night.

She was untouchable on Thursday night. Unbeatable. Unstoppable.

That will be the daunting task facing American Danielle Collins, who outmuscled No. 7 seed Iga Swiatek 6-4 6-1.

Barty’s semi-final win means she is just the sixth Aussie through to the women’s final in the Open era of tennis. She is the first to do so since Wendy Turbull in 1980 — 42 years ago.

She is now hoping to become the first Aussie woman since Chris O’Neil in 1978 to win the tournament.

Her performance against Keys suggests another piece of history is very likely.

She finished the match with 20 winners and just 13 unforced errors.

Her path to the final has been extraordinary.

She has won 12 consecutive sets in her six wins this fortnight and has spent just six hours on court, allowing her to walk into Saturday’s final fresh as a daisy.

Tennis journalist Jose Morgado described Barty’s dominant campaign as “ridiculous”.

Barty d. Keys, 61 63 in 62 minutes.

Ash’s path to the final:
d. Tsurenko, 60 61;
d. Bronzetti, 61 61;
d. Giorgi, 62 63;
d. Anisimova, 64 63;
d. Pegula, 62 60;
d. Keys, 61 63.

Total time on court: 6h06m.

— Ed Salmon (@fogmount) January 27, 2022

She roared to take the opening set 6-1 in just 26 minutes.

“It’s the ideal start,” Casey Dellacqua said on Channel 9.

Jelena Dokic said in TV commentary: “There’s a lot of tension on the face of Madison Keys. She is extremely nervous. A lot of unforced errors coming off that racquet.

“It looks like a training session. A very dominant first set.”

She was just as brutal in the second set.

“That is sinister, that slice forehand,” Channel 9 commentator Sam Smith said.

Ashleigh Barty has done it. Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images.

“That is incredible. Evil intentions. That is the ruthlessness of the world’s best player, moving the pieces around the board beautifully tonight.”

American tennis reporter Chris Clarey described Barty as a “steamroller” in a Twitter post.

ABC TV producer Angelique Lu posted on Twitter Barty’s level of play was “mind-bogglingly good”.

Alcott’s fairytale farewell falls apart

Dylan Alcott has been denied the dream farewell after he was beaten by rival Sam Schroder in straight sets on Thursday evening.

The 31-year-old’s rollercoaster week was all too much for him and he was visibly flat after coughing up the first set. He had just two days earlier been honoured as the 2022 Australian of the Year.

From there, Schroder blasted his way to a 7-5 6-0 win, where he won nine consecutive service games.

It will haunt Alcott for a long time that he had a chance to serve for the first set — but let the opportunity slip.

It sucked all the air out of the parochial Australian crowd.

It wasn’t Dylan Alcott’s day. Photo by Michael Klein.

There had been an animated cheer for Alcott as he made his way onto Rod Laver Arena.

It was even louder in the first set when he secured an early service break.

However, the fairytale didn’t materialise straight away with Alcott committing a series of errors to lose his service game.

He was heard saying, “Far out” at the end of the game.

He was left muttering to himself as he made his way off the court when Schroder took the first set with his third set point.

Alcott never recovered and couldn’t find a way to trouble Schroder in the final set.

He was cheered off as a champion should during the official post-match trophy presentations.

Dylan Alcott of Australia. Photo by Graham Denholm/Getty Images

Day 11 schedule

Rod Laver Arena

Nick Kyrgios/Thanasi Kokkinakis defeated Marcel Granollers/Horacio Zeballos [3] 7-6 6-4

Sam Schroder defeated Dylan Alcott 7-5 6-0

Ash Barty defeated Madison Keys 6-1 6-3

Danielle Collins vs Iga Swiatek

Margaret Court Arena

Cara Black/Pat Rafter defeated Mark Philippoussis/Rennae Stubbs 7-6 3-6 10-8

Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova [1] defeated Veronika Kudermetova/Elise Mertens [3] 6-2 6-3

Matthew Ebden/Max Purcell defeated Rajeev Ram/Joe Salisbury [2] 6-3 7-6

Aussie duo secure huge Open boilover

Australian duo Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis have secured their place in the men’s doubles final at Melbourne Park, setting up an all Aussie encounter for the decider on Saturday evening.

They were wildcards leading into the tournament, but Kyrgios and Kokkinakis — affectionately dubbed the “Special Ks” — claimed a huge upset on Thursday afternoon.

The two Aussies quickly become one of the major talking points in the Melbourne-based grand slam tournament, with their antics at Kia Arena drawing huge crowds.

But their semi-final against No. 3 seeded pair Horacio Zeballos and Marcel Granollers took place on Rod Laver Arena, right before Dylan Alcott’s highly-anticipated final.

Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis. Photo by Michael Klein

Granollers and Zeballos were greeted by a mix of boos and cheers as they entered Rod Laver Arena, while there was a considerably louder reaction from the Melbourne spectators when the Aussies walked onto the court.

Kyrgios threw his arms up in the air as he entered the venue, spurring the crowd on — he certainly knows how to engage with his fans.

“The chemistry is where it starts, they bring a level of presence out on the court,” former Aussie doubles champion Mark Woodforde said on SEN.

“They don’t play traditional style of doubles, but they’re combining well as a team.”

After winning the first point, Kyrgios was already showboating on the court, revving up the crowd at the net and cracking jokes with Kokkinakis.

A loud roar of “Siuu” echoed around the venue, a chant that has drawn a mixed reception in Melbourne Park this week.

The media area at RLA is about 5x more full right now than for Medvedev-Auger-Aliassime last night. Not just Aussie journos here, either. The Special Ks are box office #AusOpen

— Oliver Caffrey (@ollycaffrey) January 27, 2022

I’ve never cared so much about doubles! #AusOpen

— Nat Yoannidis (@NatYoannidis) January 27, 2022

Although the Rod Laver Arena crowd was vocal, the spectators were considerably more subdued than the chaotic scenes witnessed at Kia Arena over the past few days.

On a few occasions, the chair umpire had to ask the spectators to be quiet between serves, but far less often than previous matches involving the Special Ks.

Aussie sporting royalty Rod Laver and Steve Waugh were both spotted courtside, and Channel 9 cameras showed a cluster of tennis stars watching the action on TV screens around Melbourne Park.

The opening 10 games of the first set remained on serve, with Kyrgios’ powerful serve once again a force to be reckoned with.

At 5-5, Kyrgios threw his racquet onto the court in frustration following an unforced error on his backhand. Soon after, Kokkinakis was awarded a time violation for taking too long between his serves.

But the Aussies held their nerve, with a well-directed forehand sending the opening set to a tiebreak.

The Special Ks found themselves with three set points in the tiebreak, but they only needed two to take the opener on Rod Laver Arena.

Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis. Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

Momentum was firmly in favour of the Australians when the second set got underway, with the Special Ks immediately clinching three break points at 1-0.

The Aussies duo couldn’t convert the three chances into a break, but even though the game went to deuce, they showed their class to take a 2-0 lead regardless.

The pressure started to get to Kyrgios at 4-2, with the Aussie screaming at the chair umpire when a couple of serves were called as lets.

Not long after, he yelled at a group of spectators who were making noise while he was serving, throwing a tennis ball into the wall.

“When are you going to control the crowd, bro?” Kyrgios screamed at the chair umpire.

Kyrgios and Kokkinakis managed to save two break points, but when their rivals put the second set back on serve at 4-4, the 26-year-old destroyed his racquet by viciously throwing it onto the court.

Nick Kyrgios is NOT happy with the crowd 🤬#AusOpen - Live on Channel 9 and 9Now pic.twitter.com/vdn0uYV94c

— Wide World of Sports (@wwos) January 27, 2022

Kyrgios, who spent the last hour and a half working the crowd into a lather, now upset by crowd noise. #AusOpen

— Tim Barrow (@TheBarrow) January 27, 2022

Nick Kyrgios complaining about noise during his serve is ridiculous. That's exactly what he wanted them to do to his opponents in previous matches. Pretty hypocritical. #Ausopen#Tennis

— Mark Gottlieb (@MarkGottlieb) January 27, 2022

The Special Ks suddenly had two match points at 5-4 up, and Kokkinakis secured the stunning victory with a well-placed lofted shot.

The Aussie pair clumsily embraced on the baseline while celebrating the triumph as the Melbourne crowd went berserk.

“I’ve played a lot of singles matches around the globe with great atmospheres. This week playing with Thanasi in front of you. Nothing beats this. It’s insane,” Kyrgios said after the victory.

Kyrgios and Kokkinakis gave 2022 Australian of the Year Dylan Alcott a huge as they exited the venue.

Meanwhile, over on Margaret Court Arena, Australian pair Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell defeated the No. 2 seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury in straight sets to qualify for the men’s doubles final as well.

It’s been 42 years since the most recent All-Australian men’s doubles final at the Australian Open.

Channel 9 star slaps down Kyrgios hater

Australian Olympian Sam Groth has taken a cheeky swipe at New Zealand doubles player Michael Venus after he lashed out at Nick Kyrgios on live TV.

Venus and German playing partner Tim Puetz were beaten in three sets by Kyrgios and fellow Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis in the quarter-final of the men’s doubles in front of a raucous crowd that the Aussie pair whipped into a frenzy.

Speaking to TVNZ on Wednesday, Venus bluntly called Kyrgios “an absolute knob”.

“You see why he’s never fulfilled his potential and probably never will,” Venus said.

“His maturity level, it’s probably being generous to about a 10-year-old, it’s at about that level.”

Speaking on Channel 9, Groth couldn’t resist pointing out that Venus was making these remarks after being knocked out of the Australian Open.

“He’s doing it from New Zealand,” he said on Thursday morning. “He’s not doing it from here in Melbourne Park because he lost in the tournament.

“Throw barbs, but you’re out of the tournament bud. Sorry Michael, I like you a lot, but there’s a time and place.

“I get it, the crowd’s rowdy, Nick’s rowdy — but you were giving it back, you were part of it, you were in that battle. I’m not convinced it was the right way to go.

“I have known Michael for a long, long time. He is understandably a little bit bitter the way things went down. It’s a different crowd.

“Some of the antics were probably a little bit over the top, to be honest. But his is an entertainment product. We are producing it for the fans that come into the stands, and we’re producing it for television and getting eyeballs on the screen that wouldn’t normally be watching.”

Sam Groth and Michael Venus.

— with the NZ Herald

‘It’s a bit late’: Team Barty takes cheeky swipe at Aus Open rivals

Ash Barty is two victories away from a maiden Australian Open title and the Aussie’s slice backhand has once again been the talk of the town.

Earlier this week, American tennis icon Jim Courier boldly declared Barty’s slice backhand was better than that of 20-time grand slam champion Roger Federer.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Barty’s coach Craig Tyzzer poked fun at opponents who were spotted practising facing the trademark shot ahead of their match against the world No. 1.

“I think it is a point of difference,” Tyzzer said of Barty’s slice. “There’s not many girls out there that hit a slice backhand.

“I think the fact that they don’t see it that often and then have to come up against it – it’s actually quite funny.

“When you see who Ash has to play you see them out there practising (against) someone hitting a slice backhand to them. It’s probably a bit late the day before to try to get that right. If you haven’t practised it enough now you’re probably not going to get that right.

“Her forehand is actually a weapon.

“Her slice will set her up a lot for her forehand. Her serve sets her up a lot for her shots, as well. It’s all of those elements for me.”

Ash Barty at a practise session.