Cincinnati Masters: Ashleigh Barty recovers from break down in 2nd set to beat Barbora Krejcikova, enter semis

Cincinnati: Top-ranked Ashleigh Barty recovered from a break down in the second set to sweep past Barbora Krejcikova 6-2, 6-4 on Friday and reach the WTA and ATP Cincinnati semi-finals. The Australian top seed handed her Czech opponent only a third loss since mid-May in the battle of Grand Slam champions. Krejicikova won Roland Garros in June while Barty claimed the Paris title in 2019 and Wimbledon this season. The Czech has been on a recent run of form, with Barty now accounting for two of her opponent’s three losses since winning Strasbourg the week before the French Open and then collecting Paris and Prague trophies. Barty now stands level with Krejcikova — a three-time Grand Slam doubles champion making her singles debut here — on 38 match wins this season. The Aussie has now dispatched two Grand Slam winners in two days after beating two-time Australian Open holder Victoria Azarenka in the third round. After winning the opening set in 32 minutes over Krejcikova, Barty fell behind a break in the second. But the deficit was quickly closed as Barty broke her opponent’s final two service games of the match. Barty advanced with seven aces and four breaks of serve in the 72-minute win. She will wait a Saturday opponent from the Grand Slam champion pair of Angelique Kerber and Petra Kvitova.