Barty praises coach: "He’s Coach of the Year (2019) for a reason."

Ashleigh Barty moved past Petra Kvitova in straight sets (7-6 (6), 6-2, to reach her first Semi Final in Melbourne and keeping the Australian hopes alive of a first female A.O. winner since 1984.

“This is absolutely incredible, I knew I had to bring my absolute best today against Petra. It's a challenge. I love it. I love testing myself against Petra. She has this way of bringing out the very best in me," Barty said.

"She came at me with all guns blazing. That first set could have gone either way. It was really important to try and get my nose ahead when I could. It was nice to save a set point and get a roll on early in the second set with a couple of quick breaks,” she said, before praising her coach Craig Tyzzer.

“He’s Coach of the Year (2019) for a reason. He carries his trophy in his backpack, just because he likes to look at it, don’t you 'Tyzz',” joked the top seed. “But he does everything to the nth degree, he’s extremely disciplined looking at the other players for me. He’s incredibly diligent at what he does and that’s why he is the best.”

She also praised her opponent, two-time Wimbledon Champion: “Petra, in my eyes, is the perfect competitor. She comes out, fights her absolute best, does everything she possibly can. You never have Petra until the last point is played,” added Barty, hailing her opponent.

“Regardless of whether she wins or loses, she always has a big grin walking up to the net. She’s a lovely person, I think that’s what has made her so good over an extended period. I love testing myself against her.”

On the upcoming semis and Kenin: “Obviously she’s having an incredible run,” continued Barty ahead of facing the No.14 seed, enjoying a favorable 4-1 head-to-head over the 21-year-old.

“She's an exceptional competitor as well. Loves to put herself out there, test herself on the biggest stage. She’s really developed her game over the past 12 to 18 months and I’ve had some very tough matches against her. She has a great knack of controlling the court from the centre of the court and being that first-strike player. It's going to be important for me to try and nullify that if I can."

“So it’s about me getting my running shoes on again, bring variety and try and bring the match onto my terms as much as possible. I’m looking forward to it. The semifinals of the Australian Open, I’m going to have nothing but a massive smile on my face when I walk out here on this beautiful court.”

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