Melbourne – World number one Ashleigh Barty has preserved her chance of winning the Australian Open title. The Australian tennis player ended American Amanda Anisimova’s winning streak in Melbourne with a 6-4, 6-3 win to advance to the quarter-finals.
Barty is carrying hopes in Melbourne of becoming the first Australian tennis player to win the Australian Open since Chris O’Neil in 1978. The 25-year-old will now face Jessica Pegula of the USA in the round of the best eight of the first Grand Slam tournament of the year.
Pegula, ranked 21st in the world, defeated Greek fifth seed Maria Sakkari 7-6 (7-0), 6-3 to advance to the Australian Open round of eight for the second time since 2021.
In another quarter-final, Barbora Krejcikova and Madison Keys will play for a place in the semi-finals. Czech French Open winner Krejcikova advanced with a 6-2, 6-2 win over two-time Australian Open winner Victoria Azarenka of Belarus. Former US Open finalist Keys dominated in a 6-3, 6-1 win over Spanish top-ten player Paula Badosa. All three German women – Angelique Kerber, Andrea Petkovic and Tatjana Maria – had already been eliminated in the first round.
