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Australian Open 2022 Results: Thursday Bracket Winners, Scores and Top Stats
January 27, 2022
The two most dominant players in this year's Australian Open women's singles bracket won their semifinal matches on Thursday.
No. 1 seed Ashleigh Barty's quest for a Grand Slam title in front of her compatriots in Melbourne continued with a straight-set triumph over Madison Keys.
American Danielle Collins, the No. 27 seed, produced a masterpiece of a performance against No. 7 seed Iga Swiatek to claim her fourth straight-set victory of the tournament.
Barty was expected to be a finalist of her home country's major tournament, but Collins was not projected to emerge from the bottom half of the bracket to get into Saturday's championship match.
Barty should be favored to win, but Collins' form may give her a fighting chance against the best player in the world.
Thursday Results
Women's Semifinals
No. 1 Ashleigh Barty def. Madison Keys, 6-1, 6-3
No. 27 Danielle Collins def. No. 7 Iga Swiatek, 6-4, 6-1
Ashleigh Barty clinched her spot in the Australian Open women's singles final with another incredible performance inside Rod Laver Arena.
Barty has not lost a set on the Australian hard court, and she lost more than three games in a single set once in six matches.
The No. 1 player in the world limited Madison Keys to four game victories over two sets in Thursday's first semifinal.
Barty won 86 percent of her first-serve points and hit 20 winners compared to eight from Keys over 16 games.
Keys earned two break-point opportunities, but she was not able to convert on either chance. Barty broke Keys on four of the six chances she received.
Keys deserves credit for a fantastic tournament. She qualified for her first Grand Slam semifinal since the 2019 U.S. Open, but she ran into an unstoppable force in the form of Barty.
Barty will face Danielle Collins in the American's first-ever Grand Slam final. Collins reached Saturday's championship through a straight-set win of her own over Iga Swiatek.
Collins controlled her match with the 2020 French Open champion from start to finish. The No. 27 seed needed one hour and 18 minutes to finish off the contest.
The 28-year-old is the third straight American to reach the women's singles final at the Australian Open. Sofia Kenin won the tournament in 2020, and Jennifer Brady lost to Naomi Osaka in 2021.
Collins produced a significant advantage in a few stat categories over Swiatek. She held a 51 percent advantage in receiving points won compared to the Pole's 28 percent, and she hit seven aces compared to one from the No. 7 seed.
The No. 27 seed won 78 percent of her first serve points and produced a 27-12 edge in winners.
Collins owns a 1-3 record against Barty in her professional career, but she did defeat the Australian in straight sets last year in Adelaide, Australia.
That victory was not in a major, but it may help with whatever nerves Collins faces in her matchup with the two-time Grand Slam champion.