LEARNING

Ashleigh Barty is the first Australian woman to reach the semi-finals at this tournament since Wendy Turnbull 36 years ago.

The French Open champion holds a 4-1 career head-to-head record over Sofia Kenin, including victory in their last meeting, which was in Wuhan.

Kenin, the No.14 seed, does post a hard court victory over the WTA World No.1 in the relatively recent past: she won a three-set battle in Toronto last summer, 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4.

The Australian holds a 2-1 edge on this surface, including victory in a Fed Cup rubber last year.

This will be the fifth time in her career that Kenin, who is in her first major semi, will have played a reigning WTA World No.1: she holds a 2-2 record against players in such a position. She was edged by Simona Halep in the second round of the Australian Open last year in her first such match while she beat Naomi Osaka in Cincinnati. The other two matches were the aforementioned WTA Tour clashes against Barty.

Barty has won her last five matches against Top 15 players – all of these opponents have, in fact, been Top 10 players.

She has been beyond the quarterfinals of a major only once: when she won at Roland-Garros last year.

Kenin has reached this stage of the competition without having faced a seeded player.

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Garbiñe Muguruza holds a 3-2 career head-to-head record against Simona Halep, though the players last met at the French Open in 2018, when the Romanian won en route to the title.

The Spaniard holds a perfect 3-0 record over Halep on hard courts. Their last meeting on this surface was in Cincinnati 2017.

Halep won her only previous Australian Open semifinal in dramatic style, overcoming Angelique Kerber, 6-3, 4-6, 9-7. Earlier that same year, she had defeated Laurent Davis, 4-6, 6-3, 15-13.

The Romanian has won her last four major semifinals.

Muguruza posts a 3-1 winning record at the final-four stage of Grand Slam events. Her last trip to this juncture was the aforementioned French Open clash against Halep and was her first defeat.

This is the WTA World No.32’s best run in Melbourne. She had previously reached the 2017 quarterfinals.

TRENDING

ORDER OF PLAY

Click here to view the order of play for Day 11 at the Australian Open.

READING

Simona Halep has the look of a champion, according to Tennis.com’s Steve Tignor, who was left impressed by the Romanian’s quick work against Anett Kontaveit.

The New York Times’ Ben Rothenberg analyzes Ashleigh Barty’s chances of ending a long wait for a home women’s champion at the Australian Open.

The form of Sofia Kenin shows that there is a rosy future for the US’s rising stars, according to Eurosport.

WATCHING

Fashion Favorites: Australian Open 2020