End of the Barty party – Halep also out in the semi-finals

In a hard-fought semi-final on Thursday, the French Open winner was surprisingly beaten by outsider Sofia Kenin 6:7 (6:8), 5:7. With temperatures around 39 degrees Celsius on the hottest day of this year's Australian Open so far, Barty's hopes ended after 1:45 hours with Kenin's second match point.

“I am so grateful for this moment. I'm speechless," said Kenin: "I'll enjoy it." For the 21-year-old, it is the greatest success of her career so far. Her previous best result in one of the four most important tournaments was reaching the round of 2019 in Paris in XNUMX.

Surprise final There will be a surprise final on Saturday. The American Kenin is the youngest finalist since 2008 to challenge the two-time Grand Slam winner Garbiñe Muguruza, who was also not expected to be in the final as an unseeded player. In the second semi-final, the Spaniard defeated the Romanian Wimbledon champion Simona Halep 2:7 (6:10), 8:7. The world rankings 5. Halep had not previously given up a set in the tournament and thus backed up her claims. Garbiñe Muguruza (right) prevailed against Simona Halep. © APA/afp / GREG WOOD

Gone are Barty's dreams too. The 1980-year-old wanted to be the first Australian since Wendy Turnbull in 23 to reach the final of her home Grand Slam and become the first Australian since Chris O'Neil in 1978 to be crowned winner of Melbourne. The expectations were enormous, Barty had withstood the pressure until the semi-final against Kenin, who was two years younger than him. Barty misses numerous set balls But on Thursday, when junior games on the outdoor courts were interrupted due to the extreme heat, Barty also had to face criticism for not taking advantage of her chances. In the tiebreak of the first set, the top seed missed two set points. In the second set Barty was 2:2 ahead. Again the co-favorite missed 5 set points, this time with the score at 3:2.

Later, when she held her little niece Olivia in her arms, Barty was able to smile again despite the disappointment. “I’m 2 points away from winning in 2 sets – that’s disappointing,” she said. “She played the most important points better.”

The Grand Slam semi-final debutant Kenin seemed unimpressed by the scenery in the not completely full Rod Laver Arena, which had a capacity of almost 15 spectators, and where most spectators kept their fingers crossed for Barty. As with her round of 000 victory over the hyped 15-year-old American Cori Gauff, Kenin proved to be a spoilsport for Australian tennis fans. Overwhelmed, she dropped her tennis racket behind the baseline and covered her face with her hands.

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End of the Barty party – Halep also out in the semi-finals

In the heat of Melbourne, the hopes of the Australian tennis world number 1 are high. Ashleigh Barty on the title at the Australian Open has come to an end.

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