'This is garbage': Ash Barty surprised after ruthless demolition

World No.1 Ash Barty has taken a cheeky dig at Adelaide following her ruthless demolition of World No.12 Sofia Kenin.

After defeating Coco Gauff in Round Two, Barty put on a serving masterclass as she whipped down 17 aces to help storm past Kenin 6-3, 6-4.

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Only hours later, Barty backed up her ruthless singles performance in the doubles as Storm Sanders and herself advanced to the final.

However, it was Barty's encouraging singles performance that had fans talking.

Barty's serve was praised last year as one of her main weapons against top opponents and the Aussie showed she is ready for the first grand slam of the year after hitting 17 aces in just 10 service games.

She also won 31 of 32 points on first serve against Kenin.

Despite appearing in wonderful spirits, Barty couldn't help but take a cheeky dig at Adelaide's weather after joking she hadn't packed clothes for the sudden drop in temperature.

“I was really happy, when we got here it was 39 degrees,” Barty said.

“I brought one jacket so this is garbage, this needs to change or I’m not going to be very happy.

“Look, it’s nice, beautiful facilities here at the Drive which allows us to play throughout most weather so that’s a really brilliant thing for players because we know we can get that momentum and play in front of you guys so you can enjoy it.”

Ash Barty to face Iga Swiatek

Following her match, the Australian maestro couldn't speak highly enough of Poland's Iga Swiatek, who she's got to know well as they've spent so much time together as practice partners.

Barty reckons she loves how she gets on with the 20-year-old who succeeded her as French Open champion in 2020 and says the pair of them enjoy a similar outlook on life away from tennis.

Yet their growing closeness has also allowed both players to study each other's special games in detail - and that promises a humdinger of a semi-final at the Adelaide International on Saturday night.

"Iga's an incredible athlete. She's a smart girl. She's going to very much figure out her way and her path, what works for her," Barty added.

"I love the communication that I have with Iga. I feel like when we practise, we're really open.

"More of the communication is about life in general and what's happening off the tennis court. We share similar interests.

"There's certainly no advice from me that needs to be given to her for her to improve."

Swiatek, for her part, can't wait for another crack at the world No.1, having been outplayed by Barty last May on clay in Madrid in a much-hyped clash between the 2019 Roland Garros champion and her teenage successor.

But she's promised the Wimbledon champion will be facing a very different athlete this time around, reckoning Barty will be the one under pressure amid a great atmosphere she can't wait to experience.

"Ash is a great player, I have respect for her," said Swiatek.

"In Madrid, I had more question marks. I was pretty nervous and not confident because of the altitude. Here I don't have that factor. I know I can play really good on these courts. Also the weather conditions, I love them.

"It's always a little bit more pressure on her. Hopefully I'm going to be able to use that.

"I can really play free. That's the best thing," added the Pole, who outlasted the 2012 and 2013 Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka in the quarters.

Barty, who's been serving with metronomic excellence, knows this will be another step up in her increasingly confident-looking Australian Open preparations.

with AAP

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