Barty overcomes Kvitova for a place in the Madrid Open semifinal

Ashleigh Barty continued her stellar run on clay beating Petra Kvitova for a place in the Madrid Open semifinal.

The Australian player came out furiously into the match, winning the opening set 6-1. She served great, she returned great and Kvitova had no answer to her during rallies. Quite a bit of errors for the Czech player did not help her cause. All of that changed in the 2nd set with Kvitova delivering great tennis.

Those mistakes turned to winners a slight dip by Barty in focus allowed the Czech player to counter. She took the break and maintained it to win the set 6-3. The 2nd set was a proper battle and very competitive. Barty took an early 3-0 lead but it didn't seem like she would cruise to a win.

Kvitova was able to fight eventually breaking Barty but when she needed to confirm the break she failed giving Barty the 4-2 lead. Kvitova would have several chances in the next game but Barty held on to take a 5-2 lead. In the end, the Australian closed it out with a 6-3 final set win.

A very good match from Barty who was superb early with a slight dip in focus in the 2nd set. Proving mental fortitude is her strength she rose to the challenge in the next set outplaying Kvitova in key moments for the 2-1 win in just under two hours of play.