Ashleigh Barty defeated Madison Keys in straight sets to reach her first ever Australian Open final. (0:46)
Ash Barty reached the Australian Open final, ending a 42 year wait.
Barty needs one more victory to become the first Australian woman to win a home Grand Slam title in 38 years.
Danielle is in her way. In the second of the two semifinals, the American dominated Iga Swiatek in straight sets.
The women's final is on Saturday. The chance to take on Barty for the title at her home Grand Slam is going to be spectacular.
Barty is the first Australian woman to reach the women's singles final in 30 years. Two years before that, Chris O&Neil was the last Australian to win it.
At Wimbledon and the French Open, Barty has won major titles. She is in her first Grand Slam final.
The semifinals were over quickly.
Barty hit 20 winners. She converted four of her six break point opportunities, and saved the only two break points she faced on her serve. She has lost one service game in six matches.
It's unbelievable. Barty said in her on-court TV interview that she loves playing in Australia.
As an Australian, we get to play in our own backyard. We have a chance to win a title. It is unbelievable.
The 27th-seeded Collins beat the seventh-seeded Swiatek in 78 minutes. Her forehand crosscourt winner to set up her first match points was typical of her semifinal form. She hit 27 winners and had only 13 unforced errors.
She opened each set with a break of serve and raced to a big lead.
Collins ran to the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time. She wants to go one better.
She said that Barty would be playing the No. 1 in her home country.
Keys played in the Australian Open semifinals for the first time since 2015, when she lost to Serena Williams. The last time a No. 1 seed won the women's title was that year.
Keys was on a career-best 10- match winning streak before the semifinals, including a run to the title in a tuneup tournament in Adelaide, and a first-round win over the Australian Open champion. When she dropped into the 50s in the rankings, her total of 11 match wins was equaled. She is expected to return to the top 30 next week.
The stadium was limited to two-thirds capacity, with the state government allowing an increase from the 50% restriction on ticketed courts late this week as part of the easing of rules in place for the COVID-19 Pandemic.
The first match had a lot of support for Barty. Chants of "Let's go Barty, let's go!" and coordinated clapping were common at each changeover, with pockets of fans wearing the yellow shirt synonymous with the Australian player scattered around the arena. The Australian tennis great was in the stadium.
While Barty is potentially one win away from giving the host nation a title, there is a guaranteed win in another competition.
Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis ensured an all-Australian men's doubles final with a win over third-seeded Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos. Fans were allowed into the main stadium with grounds passes during the day session, and didn't need stadium tickets for the afternoon session.
The second-seeded team of Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury were beaten by the Australians on a near-empty adjoining Margaret Court Arena.
Dylan Alcott ended his farewell tournament with a loss in the wheelchair quad final.
Alcott was named Australian of the Year at celebrations for the national day and attended a ceremony in the capital of Canberra between his win in the semifinals and the final.
Alcott has 15 Grand Slam titles. He won all four majors and the Tokyo Paralympics gold medal last year.
Barty paid tribute to Alcott.
He inspired a nation when he said his acceptance speech, Barty said. I couldn't be more proud of him.
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