Barty, Kenin rally for quarterfinal berths at Yarra Valley Classic

The Yarra Valley Classic almost lost its two top seeds on Wednesday, as top seed Ashleigh Barty and second seed Sofia Kenin were forced to work hard to advance to the quarterfinals.

With Barty competing in front of her home fans, the Australian faced off against sixteenth seed Marie Bouzkova. The World No.1 dominated from the start, taking the first set 6-0 in under 30 minutes. It seemed to be a routine day at the office for Barty, who was competing in her first tournament after almost a year away from the sport due to the pandemic.

However, Bouzkova surprised the local crowd when she broke her opponent's serve early in the second set and raced to a 4-2 lead. Although Barty applied pressure in an effort to break back, the Czech star held firm and secured the second set 6-4 to the dismay of the partisan crowd.

The final set saw both ladies exchange a pair of breaks, with the score leveled at 3-3. It was at this point that Barty's resolve prevailed, as she proceeded to obtain the vital break and serve out the match. Cheered on by her home crowd, the World No.1 overcame Bouzkova with a 6-0 4-6 6-3 victory in exactly two hours. The Aussie next faces American Shelby Rogers, who upset seventh-seeded Petra Martic in straight sets to advance to the quarterfinals.

Defending Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin shared a fate similar to Barty, as the American clashed with compatriot Jessica Pegula. Surprisingly, it was Pegula who obtained the first break before Kenin leveled the score at 2-2. However, the top-ranked American faltered when serving to stay in the set at 5-6, giving the first set to her lower-ranked opponent.

An upset was in the works as Pegula raced to a 3-0 lead in the second set, as a frazzled Kenin attempted to control her errors. The World No.4 was able to pull off four straight games and level the set at 5-5. This time, it was Pegula who was unable to extend the set to a tiebreak, as Kenin took the second set 7-5.

Having developed a rhythm, it was all Kenin in the final set. The second seed secured an early break, before racing to a 5-1 lead. The 2020 Roland Garros finalist steadied the course, escaping with a 5-7 7-5 6-2 victory after two hours and four minutes. She will face the winner between sixth seed Garbine Muguruza and Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the quarterfinals.

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