Australian Open: World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty thrashes Jessica Pegula to enter semis

The world number one Ashleigh Barty continued her ruthless march through the Australian Open draw on Tuesday as she dispatched the number 21 seed Jessica Pegula 6-2, 6-0 in just 63 minutes in the quarterfinals.

Barty has lost just 17 games in five matches to reach her fourth Grand Slam semifinal, and second at her home major. She is bidding to become the first Australian woman to lift the trophy in Melbourne since Chris O’Neil in 1978.

Having lifted her third career title on home soil in Adelaide three weeks ago, Barty is now on a nine-match winning streak.

Next up for the top-seed is Madison Keys clash on Thursday night for a spot in the final of AO, whom she beat 6-3, 7-5 in the Parisian quarterfinals three years ago.

Earlier in the day at Rod Laver Arena, Madison Keys eased past the number four seed Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-2 at the AO.

In their first meeting, Keys was pristine in the sweltering Melbourne conditions as she cruised to victory over reigning Roland Garros singles and doubles champion Krejcikova in just an hour and 25 minutes.

Keys is now into her fifth Grand Slam semifinal of her career, and her first since the 2018 US Open. She matches her final-four result from the 2015 Australian Open, where she made her maiden major semifinal.