Ash Barty has secured a spot in the women’s final of the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati by defeating Angelique Kerber from Germany in straight sets on Saturday.
The two players previously met in the semi-finals at Wimbledon last month, where Barty also emerged victorious in two consecutive sets. In their recent showdown, Kerber managed to exploit a weakness in the game of the current world number one early in the second set. However, Barty quickly recovered and clinched the match with a score of 6-2, 7-5.
Reflecting on the match, Barty mentioned, “It’s always a challenging competition against Angie. She is an outstanding competitor, and I felt she raised her game at the beginning of the second set, which pushed me to step up as well.”
She further added, “Angie performed well during crucial points in the early stage of the second set, so I’m pleased that I eventually managed to find a way to success.”
Kerber notably managed to break Barty’s serve twice during the second set, interrupting the Australian player’s six-game winning streak. Nonetheless, Barty retaliated and closed out the match in a total duration of 75 minutes, with the first set lasting only 27 minutes. She will now go up against Jil Teichmann in the final next Sunday.
