"Having the fans makes it all better" says Barty after reaching Cincinnati semifinal

Ashleigh Barty took down Barbora Krejcikova in the Western & Southern Open quarterfinal to reach the semifinals.

It was an entertaining clash between Barty and Krejcikova and just like at Wimbledon, the Aussie proved to get the better of the Roland Garros champion. Barty faced issues in the 2nd set but reeled off 4 consecutive games to close out the match in straight sets. After the win she said:

“This tournament has been here for so long and so many great champions have won this event. Having the fans here to enjoy it makes everything all the better.”

Barty was able to overcome a solid effort from Krejcikova especially in the 2nd serve where the Czech player started off serving exceptionally well. Barty noted as much post-match saying:

“Barbora served incredibly well in the second set and was able to take advantage of a few too many of my second serves. I just tried to be a little bit more positive on her service games and try to get myself in the points a little bit more. Happy to run away with that one in the end.”