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Ashleigh Barty emerged victorious in an all-Australian Wimbledon quarterfinal on Tuesday, downing Ajla Tomljanovic 6-1, 6-3. Barty will next face 2018 champion Angelique Kerber on Thursday for a place in the final.
The top seed was largely untroubled on serve in the first set and breezed through it in 24 minutes. After dropping serve in the first game of the second set, Barty swiftly recovered and regained her lead before closing out the match in just over an hour.
On that note, let us take a look at three talking points from this quarterfinal encounter:
#1 Serve was the main differentiator in the match
Ashleigh Barty continued her stellar serving performance in the quarterfinals. For a third consecutive match, she dropped no more than two service games. The World No. 1 won close to 70% of the points on first serve, in stark contrast to her Tomljanovic's dismal 47%.
Tomljanovic lost serve a whopping six times, with her slow, loopy second deliveries put to the sword by the World No. 1.
This was surprising considering how she fared in her previous match against Emma Raducanu. On that occasion, Tomljanovic was clinical and didn't get broken even once.
It's safe to say she was far from her best, and Barty capitalized on her opportunities.
#2 Ajla Tomljanovic struggled to find any consistency from the back of the court
Ajla Tomljanovic's one-dimensional game did little to trouble the versatile Ashleigh Barty. Barty neutralized her compatriot's flat, heavy groundstrokes with relentless low slices. The World No. 1 constantly maneuvered the ball from side to side, making Tomljanovic do all the running.
Tomljanovic was able to hit just five winners in the entire match, while Barty dominated the exchanges and racked up 23 winners. By the time Tomljanovic started to get comfortable with Barty's slices, it was too little too late.
#3 Ashleigh Barty is into her first Wimbledon semi-final
With the win, Barty booked a berth in the semifinals of Wimbledon for the first time in her career. Her previous best was a R16 appearance two years ago.
Despite dealing with injury concerns in the weeks preceding Wimbledon, Barty now looks healthy and ready to challenge for her second Grand Slam title. With a dependable serve, an exceptional slice backhand and impressive court coverage, Barty's game has proven to be a huge success at Wimbledon.
The Aussie has lost just one set in the tournament so far and will look to carry her momentum into the semifinal against former champion Angelique Kerber.
