Ashleigh Barty Australian Open journey comes to an end: World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty lost her quarter-final match to World No. 27 Karolina Muchova. With this win, Muchova has now secured her first Grand Slam semi-final.
Leading 6-1, 2-1 in the match against the Czech Republic's Muchova, Barty dominated in the opening set. Muchova took an injury time-out and was treated for nearly ten minutes by medical staff during the second set. The 24-year-old came back and rebounded to stun Barty 1-6 6-3 6-2, upsetting many of her fans.
Chin up, and focused on the positives no matter the result.
β #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) February 17, 2021
π @ashbarty #AusOpen | #AO2021 pic.twitter.com/SW8jXpjk7g
The loss cut short Barty's journey to becoming the first Australian woman to win the title in Melbourne since Chris OβNeil in 1978. "It's a disappointment today, without a doubt," Barty said after the loss. "I would have loved to have done better and just been a little bit sharper the next game
Last week, World number one Barty reacahed the last-32 in Melbourne for the fifth consecutive year.
A tale of two phases:
β Christopher Clarey (@christophclarey) February 17, 2021
8-2 Barty until Karolina Muchova's Medical Time Out
11-3 Muchova after she came back
Result is an upset
No. 25 seed Muchova 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 over No. 1 Barty and into her first Grand Slam semifinal to face Jen Brady or Jessica Pegula#AO2021 pic.twitter.com/gdkEsgxHFj
"I started to feel a bit lost by the end of the first set and my head was spinning, so I took a break," Muchova explained after the match. "They cooled me down a bit with ice and it helped me."
This was Muchova's rare victory over a top-five. In 2019, she played against No. 3 Karolina Pliskova at Wimbledon and won.
24-year-old Muchova will now face No. 22-seeded Jennifer Brady in the Australian Open semifinal on Thursday.
Semifinal bound π¨@jennifurbrady95 has booked a ticket for a clash with Muchova as she looks to make the #AusOpen final ποΈ@Kia_Worldwide | #Kia | #MovementThatInspires | #KiaTennis | #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/UG6RCncMXz
β #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) February 17, 2021
Feature Image Credit: The New Daily