Aussie Ash Barty survives Kvitova crush to square the ledger against Czech star

Ash Barty has continued her sublime form in Europe by edging dual-Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova.

Ash Barty launches a serve on her way to a three-set win over Petra Kvitova

Ash Barty has continued her sublime run of form in Europe by defeating fellow major winner Petra Kvitova in a quarterfinal of the highest quality in Madrid at a tournament where the Czech has excelled in the past.

After defeating reigning Roland Garros champion Iga Swiatek in a round of 16 encounter, Barty was able to survive a shotmaking onslaught from the dual-Wimbledon champion to prevail 6-1 3-6 6-3 in just under two hours.

It extends her winning streak on the red clay in Europe to 15 dating back to her own French Open triumph in 2019. Barty arrived in Madrid after claiming both the singles and doubles in Stuttgart late last month.

“It was an incredible match. We always have really good battles and … she made me play my best to beat her,” Barty said.

Standing in the way of her appearance in another final is Paula Badosa, who is the last woman to beat Barty.

A former French Open junior champion, the 23-year-old is starting to make her way on the tour and was too good for the Australian in a quarter-final in South Carolina on green clay earlier last month.

Seeking to square the win-loss ledger against Kvitova in their tenth outing on Wednesday, Barty raced to a 5-0 lead before the Czech was finally able to get on the scoreboard after 24 minutes.

About the only time the world No 1 was off balance in the first set was when she was momentarily befuddled while leading 5-0.

After stretching Kvitova all over the court with deft touch, Barty was preparing to hit a bounce smash when she completely lost sight of the ball in the blinding sun.

A DAZZLING end to the point... 😎

Especially for @ashbarty 🤪#MMOPENpic.twitter.com/IkUPOKH2gB

— wta (@WTA) May 5, 2021

But the Australian continued to work her decorated rival over with her forehand and moved to within a set of a semi-final berth when taking the first set 6-1.

If the first set was a Barty blitz, the second became a Kvitova crush.

A three-time champion in Madrid, the Czech is the most successful woman in the tournament’s history.

She found her rhythm early in the second set and was able to break the Australian to move to a 2-0 lead.

The quality of the Czech’s serving throughout the second set was exceptional, which enabled her to shorten the points and play the match on her terms.

It was one-strike tennis in her service games, with the world No 12 either punching a volley or thumping a winner following the Barty returns, which were often short due to the amount she was being stretched.

As has been the case throughout Kvitova’s career, when she plays at her peak, she is particularly hard to beat given the precision of her serve and power of her groundstrokes.

Barty needed to recalibrate and start drawing errors from her rival, which she did, breaking Kvitova in the second game of the third set.

The critical points began to fall her way. Facing a break point in the next game, Barty delivered a second-serve ace that kicked out of reach of her rival’s forehand.

But the momentum swung again. Kvitova claimed eight points in succession from 0-3 0-30 to put the deciding set back on serve at 2-3. But Barty was able to settle, landing a delightful lob on the way to breaking again.

It will be a different challenge against Badosa, who defeated Barty 6-3 6-4 in Charleston in what was the Spaniard’s biggest win of her career.

The wildcard entrant who defeated Belinda Bencic 6-4 7-5 to make the semi-finals approached her clash with the Australian by remembering her upbringing on the red clay courts.

“I know I’m playing the World No 1 and she’s an amazing player, but I’m on a clay court, I know how to play on clay courts (and) I like to play on clay courts,” Badosa said last month.

“I knew I had to focus on myself, and of course, if she was better than me, that could be a possibility, so I’d just have to accept it.

“But at least I tried to do my game, my serve, my forehand, my backhand, and focus on me, and that’s what I did.”

Barty, who had just won the Miami Open prior to competing in Charleston, said she will devise a plan to reverse the result.

“We played a couple of weeks ago and she played a great match. It is time for me to try to change the result,” she said.

“She is playing some great tennis, is confident, she takes the game on. It is going to be exciting.”