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Ashleigh Barty and Madison Keys after the match
Photo:
Quinn Rooney/Getty Images
World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty is the first Australian tennis player to reach the final of the Australian Open in 42 years.
The 25-year-old won her semifinals at the first Grand Slam tournament of the season on Thursday in Melbourne 6-1, 6-3 against Madison Keys from the USA.
In the final on Saturday, Barty is the first Australian to win the title since Chris O'Neil in 1978, the last finalist was Wendy Turnbull in 1980. Barty's final opponent will be determined in the subsequent semi-final between Iga Swiatek from Poland and Danielle Collins from the USA.
Wimbledon champion Barty went into the tournament as the big favorite and didn't drop a single set on her way to the final.
The first set only lasted 26 minutes
Barty's opponent Keys, number 51 in the world, had entered her second semi-final in Melbourne after 2015 with strong performances.
She also beat fellow favorites Paula Badosa (Spain) and Barbora Krejcikova (Czech Republic).
But two-time Major winner Barty is well above the competition in this tournament.
She only needed 26 minutes for the first set against the tense Keys, with her rhythm changes through the backhand slice, Barty dominated the match in the Rod Laver Arena.
The American initially kept up better in the second set, but Barty showed her best tennis in the important moments and ended the game after just 62 minutes.
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