Australian Open 2020, Semifinals, Ashleigh Barty vs Sofia Kenin, LIVE Score

09:06 (IST)

Barty 3-3 *Kenin (* denotes server)

Slim margins on display in the Kenin serve. She missed a second serve for a double by a small, small point. And then sends her backhand wide narrowly as well. Two break points for Barty. Both saved with the Aussie continuing to make mistakes on the backhand side. Going for her sliced backhand to keep the ball low and hitting the net on both instances. The plan from Kenin is clear now and Barty has to get that backhand more in play to make a dent. Barty with a flat backhand winner to bring up a third break point. And it is saved once again with a backhand error. Kenin has the chance to hold but she makes a mistake of her own. A lovely, side spin heavy backhand has Barty scrambling but unable to get the ball back. And Kenin gets the job done by pushing Barty into an error. Pump of the fist from Kenin. 

09:00 (IST)

Barty* 3-2 Kenin (* denotes server)

ACE, ACE, ACE! Ash takes her tally of aces to six after just three service games. 155 kmph, 175 kmph and 154 kmph. Barty has made 7 errors on the backhand side but is bridging that gap with impressive serves. 

08:57 (IST)

Barty 2-2 *Kenin (* denotes server)

A love hold for Kenin as well. Nerves? Pressure? What nerves? What pressure? A gorgeous backhand lob over Barty and then an ace down the tee to hold serve. So far so good for the American. 

08:54 (IST)

Barty* 2-1 Kenin (* denotes server)

An extremely solid service game from Barty. 179 and 173 kmph serve aces to go 30-0 up followed by a serve out wide to then send a winner. A love hold for Barty after Kenin is unable to get the serve back

08:52 (IST)

Barty 1-1 *Kenin (* denotes server)

A hold at 40-30 for Kenin as well to level the match. Needed to get that hold to settle the early nerves slightly and she's done that. Did help with Barty taking her unforced errors tally to six. (Kenin has 3)

08:49 (IST)

Barty* 1-0 Kenin (* denotes server)

A comfortable hold in the end for Ashleigh. Had wee bit trouble in getting the first serve going but closes it out with a serve down the tee and Kenin's reach out to get it back isn't successful. 

08:46 (IST)

Ready, play!

Ashleigh Barty starts to serve after a moment's display as the crowd roars in support of the Queenslander who is hoping to end their wait for a home winner (52 years) or at least a home finalist (15 years). 

08:42 (IST)

Moments away from start to play

Our first women's semifinal is on!@ashbarty holds the 4-1 edge in the head-to-head while @SofiaKenin earned her win over the world No. 1 in 2019.#AO2020 | #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/qZTXGh8Vvv

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 30, 2020

08:41 (IST)

Barty to serve first

Both players on court. Sofia Kenin is followed by Ashleigh Barty. The Aussie has won the toss and chosen to serve first. Nice bit of touch from the World No. 1: telling the little girl with the coin toss for a job well done. Gotta love players who are nice and polite to the ball kids!

08:38 (IST)

It is 37 degrees in Melbourne. Barty wouldn't mind that all that much. But it could affect the proceedings. 

For the first time this #AusOpen, focus has been on the heat stress rather than air quality.

If it hits 4.0 then a 10-minute break between the second and third sets is allowed in the women's semi-finals.

If it hits 5.0 the match would stop and the roof closed.#bbctennis pic.twitter.com/386xIK1VzA

— Jonathan Jurejko (@J_Jurejko) January 30, 2020

08:36 (IST)

On Sofia Kenin: One of the crucial tasks for Kenin will be to push Barty behind the baseline with her deep drives, and avoid making too many errors while she’s at it. Barty is a fabulous defender but she’s most comfortable when she’s playing a match on her terms, so Kenin could gain an upper hand if she can dictate the rallies from the middle of the court.

08:34 (IST)

On Ashleigh Barty: Barty is is the first Aussie - male or female - to reach the semi-finals of Australian Open since Lleyton Hewitt in 2005. For Ash, the challenge is not just about what has happened in the past but also what comes next, for her personally and for Australia.

08:24 (IST)

Sofia Kenin in an old footage where she talks about how she will face Andy Roddick's big, booming serve. She was just 7!

08:22 (IST)

Battle thoughts? Whatever that means, by Australian Open.  

Who will rise?@ashbarty and @SofiaKenin tussle in the semifinals. But first, share their perspective.

This is Battle Thoughts, presented by Canadian Club#AO2020 | #AusOpen | #canadianclub pic.twitter.com/oU3hgpDVWY

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 30, 2020

08:19 (IST)

Kenin's record against World No 1 players: 2-2

The American lost to Simona Halep in the second round here last year and later beat Naomi Osaka in Cincinnati. Her next two meetings have come against Barty

08:15 (IST)

Head-to-head

Barty holds a 4-1 career head-to-head record over Sofia Kenin, including victory in their last meeting (Wuhan)

Kenin's only win over Barty has come on a hard court: in Toronto last year. Yet, Barty holds a 2-1 advantage on hard courts

08:06 (IST)

Some factoids to get the ball rolling:

Ashleigh Barty is the first Australian woman to reach the semi-finals at this tournament since Wendy Turnbull 36 years ago.

She has been beyond the quarterfinals of a major only once: when she won at Roland Garros last year.

Kenin has reached this stage of the competition without having faced a seeded player.

08:01 (IST)

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Australian Open. Three singles semi-fianls are lined up for today. Local hero Ash Barty will take on Sofia Kenin in the first match while Simona Halep will clashes against unseeded Garbine Muguruza. Novak Djokovic is scheduled to play the great Roger Federer in the evening. 

 

Australia Open Thursday action preview: Defending champion Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer will be playing each other for the 50th time when they meet in the semifinals at Melbourne Park. It's a blockbuster matchup between two men with a combined 36 Grand Slam trophies (Federer has a record 20, Djokovic 16), 13 Australian Open championships (Federer has six, Djokovic a record seven) 180 singles titles overall (Federer has 103, Djokovic 77) and 10 year-end No. 1 finishes in the ATP rankings (five apiece).

Djokovic leads the head-to-head series 26-23, with five in a row in matches at the majors, including their most recent meeting — in last year's Wimbledon final, where he saved two match points to beat Federer in a fifth-set tiebreaker.

So why hasn't Federer managed to win a Grand Slam match against Djokovic in eight years? Djokovic himself said he wasn't sure. "I know that whenever we get a chance to play each other, we understand it takes a big effort and it's required from us to come up with the best game in order to win against each other," Djokovic said. "Roger is Roger. You know that he's always going to play on such a high level, regardless of the surface. He loves to play these kind of matches, big rivalries, semis, finals of Grand Slams."

One key this time could be how Federer feels after dealing with a painful groin muscle while saving seven match points during a five-set quarterfinal win. While the other men's semifinal is not until Friday, both women's semis are Thursday: No. 1 Ash Barty vs. No. 14 Sofia Kenin, and No. 4 Simona Halep vs. unseeded Garbine Muguruza.

With AP inputs

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