Keys into Australian Open semis, will face Barty next

Madison Keys' 6-3, 6-2 quarterfinal win over French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova on Tuesday was her 10th match win in a row and 11th of the new year. She will face top-ranked Ash Barty who beat No. 21 Jessica Pegula 6-2, 6-0.

Madison Keys of the U.S. celebrates after defeating Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic in their quarterfinal at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Andy Brownbill)

Madison Keys continued her resurgent 2022 season by advancing to the Australian Open semifinals.

And resurgent might be a major understatement.

Her 6-3, 6-2 quarterfinal win over French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova on Tuesday was her 10th match win in a row and 11th of the new year. That includes five wins so far at Melbourne Park, five in winning the Adelaide International title 10 days ago and one at a Melbourne tournament in the first week of the season.

Her total number of wins in all of 2021? That same number, 11.

Plenty of experience signing cameras this month ✍️@Madison_Keys • #AusOpen • #AO2022 pic.twitter.com/ioaE4EYxlv

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 25, 2022

“I did everything I could to rest this offseason and focus on starting fresh and new . . . starting from zero and not focusing on last year,” Keys said in her on-court interview. “I think it’s going well so far!”

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Last week, Keys gave more details on how terrible 2021 was for her.

“I was just at a very high anxiety level all of the time,” Keys said. “I wasn’t sleeping as well. It felt like there was literally a weight on my chest just because I became so focused and obsessed with it that I wasn’t enjoying really anything because it’s all that I was thinking about.”

Krejcikova took a medical timeout while trailing 5-2 in the first set from what might have been heat stress, and appeared to be lethargic at times during the 35-minute second set.

Top-ranked Ash Barty moved into the Australian Open semifinals with a 6-2, 6-0 win over No. 21 Jessica Pegula.

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The Wimbledon champion is aiming to become the first Australian woman to win the Australian Open since 1978.

Storming ⚡️ into semis!

Favourite @ashbarty takes only 63 minutes to get into the final 4⃣ at #AusOpen with a clinical performance, 6-2 6-0 against @JLPegula 👏

📹 @AustralianOpen pic.twitter.com/GOQK0SzhRK

— Billie Jean King Cup (@BJKCup) January 25, 2022

She will next face 2017 U.S. Open runner-up Madison Keys for a place in the final. It’s Barty’s second trip to the semifinals at Melbourne Park — she lost to eventual champion Sofia Kenin in 2020.

“I’ve grown as a person. I’ve grown as a player,” Barty said of the difference between then and now. “I feel like I’m a more complete player.”