Ash Barty's dream of a first Australian Open title is over, after a tough straight-sets semi-final loss to American Sofia Kenin at Melbourne Park.
In a match played in searing heat on Rod Laver Arena, Barty fell short in her bid to become the first Australian woman to reach the final since Wendy Turnbull in 1980, with a 7-6 (8/6), 7-5 loss to Kenin.
Both players showed nerves early on. Barty amassed an early string of winners, but they were matched by a number of crucial errors.
However Kenin started to show her potential, with a quick hold in the fourth game including a brilliantly put-together point where she drew Barty to the net before landing a perfect lob inside the baseline.
The first pivotal moment came in the sixth game, where Barty quickly got Kenin to 15-40, only for the American to produce two strong first serves to save both break points. She saved another a minute later before dragging Barty wide on a couple of points to secure the hold.
Both players were showing the extent of the heat on court, stepping into the shadows for a brief respite while waiting for replays on challenges.
Serving at 5-5, successive mistakes left her at 0-30. However Kenin could not take advantage, with Barty sending an ace down the T on second serve to clinch the game.
The set went to a tie-break, with players swapping mini-breaks as neither could get the vital edge.
At 5-4, a slow Kenin serve was met with a rasping off-forehand winner from Barty. But serving at set point, the Australian was wrongfooted by a brilliant return from the American.
Eventually, Kenin earned set point with another winner, and a forehand into the net from Barty gave the American the lead after 59 minutes.
The second set started differently, with a couple of Barty winners in the third game — including a wicked sliced backhand that spun away from Kenin — setting up an error from the American to give her opponent the break.
Kenin began to have trouble with Barty's groundstrokes as the Australian started to get more aggressive, using the sliced backhand both for passing shots and to set up forehand winners.
The Australian had the advantage and led 5-3, but she lost her way with a series of errors to give Kenin a lifeline.
The American then took control, sweeping through her service game and then earning two match points in the 12th game. Barty saved one, but made a final forehand error to end her title chances after an hour and 45 minutes.
The other semi-final ended with the same scoreline, as the unseeded Garbine Muguruza defeated Simona Halep 7-6 (8/6), 7-5 in a little more than two hours.
Muguruza's victory made her the first Spanish woman to reach the Australian Open final since Conchita Martinez in 1998. Martinez coached Muguruza to her second Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon in 2017 — her first was at the 2016 French Open.
Muguruza made it to number one in the world in 2017. She reunited with Martinez as her coach last November — now she has to add to her Grand Slam record on Saturday against Kenin.
Look back at the twists and turns of Ash Barty's semi-final, as it happened, in our blog.
