Aussie world number one Ash Barty is out of the Australian Open, losing 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 to Czech Karolina Muchova in a dramatic quarter-final contest at Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday afternoon.
The match may have started in the morning under the beating sun, but the quarter-final delivered enough twists and turns worthy of a primetime match at Rod Laver Arena.
The contest between the French Open champion and the tournament’s 25th seed had it all – momentum swings, injury time outs and plenty of drama on the final day without crowds.
Barty will be left to rue missing out on another golden opportunity to win her home Slam, just a year after her eerily similar semi-final loss to eventual champion Sofia Kenin.
Muchova’s chances of victory looked remote after losing the first set in just 24 minutes, but the match changed dramatically following a medical time out that will come under scrutiny early in the second set.
She left the court at the first changeover of the second set for a medical time out and confirmed after the match that she didn't receive treatment for the abdominal injury which saw her pull out of the Gippsland Trophy a fortnight ago.
"My head was spinning and I was a bit lost so I took a break," she said in her on-court interview.
"They checked my pressure, they cooled me down and then I went back on the court."
After the off-court treatment, Muchova bounced back to immediately to break Barty’s serve following the time out and saved two break points to stay within touching distance in the middle stages of the second set before rallying to force the match into a deciding set.
It was an error-riddled second set for Barty, who made 19 unforced errors and landed just 52 per cent of first serves.
The final set was every bit as gripping as you’d expect an Australian Open quarter-final to be, with Muchova breaking Barty’s serve in the first game before the Queenslander squandered multiple break back points in the following service game, losing her serve once more as the match petered out.
Barty became increasingly frustrated throughout the second and third sets, as her opponent raised her game and barely gave her an inch after the first set.
Muchova will play the winner of the all-American clash between Jennifer Brady and Jessica Pegula for a spot in Saturday night's final.
