Australian Open 2022 quarter-finals: Ash Barty v Jessica Pegula – live! | Sport

Barty 1-0 Pegula* Excellent start from Pegula, who reads Barty’s forehand to hit a cross-court winner for 30-0. Then at 40-0 she opts to come in – not sure about that one, Jess old mate – and nets then, when Barty comes in she hooks a pass wide. From nowhere, she’s put herself under pressure and shonuff when she’s invited in again, she nets a simple forehand putaway. Barty is into this now and soon has advantage – Pegula’s started missing first serves – then Barty surprisingly dumps a backhand. Already, this seems like a pivotal game, and a big forehand into the backhand corner allows Barty to clean up at the net, then Pegula nets a backhand and that’s the break. She’ll be wondering, already – and rightly so.

Pegula won the toss and wasn’t sure what to do, but eventually opted to serve and here we go….

While that Nadal match was going on, Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis were causing a bonzer storm on Court, beating Puts and Venus, the number 6 seeds, in the men’s doubles. They’d already sorted Mektic and Pavic, the number 1 seeds, and meets Zeballos and Granollers, the three seeds, in the semis.

I was delighted to see Madison Keys beat Barbora Krejcikova earlier today. Not because I’ve anything against the latter, but the former’s renaissance is just so affirming. She’s got so much talent, and I’m hoping that she’s finally found the mental equilibrium to realise it to its fullest extent. The last time she went deep in a major, at the 2017 US Open, she meekly subsided in the final, losing 3 and 0 to her mate, Sloane Stephens. She meets the winner of Barty v Pegula in the last four, and if she could win that – admittedly a monstrous conditional – I’d fancy her to see off whichever of Collins, Cornet, Swiatek or Kanepi she met in the final.

In the Europsort, er … cube, they’re saying that they don’t see a killer shot in Pegula, who’s solid but not much more. I can’t disagree with that, and Barty would have to drop a 2/10 to lose this.

Just a little while ago, Denis Shapovalov fought, grunted and hauled his way back from two sets to love down against Rafael Nadal, only to lose his first service-game in the decider. I don’t know if it got big on him, or if he lost concentration, but it didn’t seem like a coincidence, and Nadal took the fifth 6-3. That will sting for quite some time, I shouldn’t wonder, and though I don’t think Nadal will win the thing, it would be typical if he did, taking advantage of Novak Djokovic’s absence and making the final by beating almost no one.

G’day, g’avo and g’evening; whatever time it is, wherever you are, it’s Barty time. In a moment or two, one of sports most likable characters and one of tennis’ most brilliant players takes on Jessica Pegula for a place in the semi-finals of her home grand slam.

Barty is in terrific form and totally outclassed the also brilliant Amanda Anisimova in her last match, but in Pegula finds a player finding herself. This is already her best major effort – her best efforts in all four have come in the last year – and Sunday’s straight-sets win over Maria Sakkari was the performance of her career. So, you never know.

Er, OK, you probably do, but Barty is always fun to watch, and once the match is done we’ve got Mario Berrettini v Gaël Monfils which will be an absolute treat. Here we go!