Ashley Barty stopped the drive of Amanda Anisimova on AO

The favorite of the hosts Ashley Barty defeated with 6: 4, 6: 3 the American Amanda Anisimova and for the fourth consecutive year will play in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.

The leader in the world rankings managed to cope with the fierce resistance of the American, proving to be the more stable player in key points in the 74-minute race at Rod Laver Arena.

Although Barty broke her stunning streak of 63 consecutive wins, her ability to fend off opponents was also evident against 20-year-old Anisimova.



In his quest to become the first local champion since Chris O'Neill in 1978, Barty made three breakthroughs in the second set and secured a match with another American, Jessica Pegula. The match is on Wednesday for a place in the semifinals.

After the match, Barty congratulated Anisimova, and the two had a meeting in the semifinals of "Roland Garros" in 2019. Then Barty won the match again and eventually lifted the trophy in Paris.

"She's an amazing athlete, an amazing athlete. One of the athletes who always fights for every point," Barty explained. "I think the best for her is yet to come."

The first set was quite equal, as Barty made a breakthrough from the third attempt in the seventh game. In the second half Anisimova started very strong, made a breakthrough for 2: 0. But the Australian reversed the development with an immediate re-break and later equalized.

Things went smoothly to 3: 3, after which the Australian took the last three games and moved on.