Ashleigh Barty is through to the semifinals of the Australian Open for the second time in her career after beating Jessica Pegula 6-2 6-0.<\/p>\n
This score isn’t a flash in the pan. She’s dropped only 17 games in the tournament, the most dominant run she’s had in her four runs to a Major semifinal.<\/p>\n
Here’s everything you need to about the Aussie’s fantastic run so far.<\/p>\n
Despite dropping only 17 games, there have been peaks and troughs to Barty’s game. What has stayed fairly constant throughout however is Barty’s ability to start quickly.<\/p>\n
Whether she’s starting the point, being particularly effective on serve and return…<\/p>\n
… or if she’s starting the match, her ability to dig in early an underrated skill of hers…<\/p>\n
… whichever way you frame it, Barty is quick off the mark.<\/p>\n
More so than ever, Barty’s slice has been messing with her opponents.<\/p>\n
Against Pegula in particularly, we saw her ability to completely vary the slice:<\/p>\n
With the potential for rain forecast on Thursday and the roof possibly closed, Barty’s slice will sit even lower<\/a> in the court. Keys could have a lot of trouble playing with her usual unparalleled brand of aggression off tough low-sitting balls…<\/p>\n Dropping 17 games is decent but you might be prone to thinking this is a regular occurrence on the WTA Tour. There have been dominant runs in recent times at majors but the consistency required for just 17 games dropped… it’s not something we’ve seen for a while.<\/p>\n Barty's dropped 17 games en route to the final…<\/p>\n The last time any player dropped 17 or fewer games going into the semis of a major was in Serena Williams' 2013 US Open run…<\/p>\n That was 27 Slams ago \ud83e\udd2a<\/p>\n — Jack Edward (@ontheline_jack) January 25, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\nGravity of Dominance<\/h3>\n
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