By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, March 28, 2019
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Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve
MIAMI—A rainbow burst through a drizzly day overhead while Ashleigh Barty created career breakthrough on Hard Rock Stadium court.
Nearly seven hours after the scheduled 1 p.m. semifinal start time, a gritty Barty beat Anett Kontaveit, 6-3, 6-3, charging into her first career Miami Open final.
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The 12th-seeded Barty, who will crack the Top 10 for the first time on Monday, raised her record to 17-3.
"I think with the cards we were dealt at the start of the week, I'm so proud of myself and my team for trusting the process and enjoying the journey," Barty said. "I think we have had some amazing opportunities on the court to do some pretty special things.
"I think now we have another opportunity in a couple days' time to go out there and try and play a really good match. Obviously it's another chance at a title. Really excited to be in this position."
Barty awaits the winner of tonight’s semifinal between second-seeded Simona Halep and fifth-seeded Karolina Pliskova in Saturday’s final.
It’s the second final of the season for the 22-year-old Aussie, who was runner-up to Petra Kvitova in Sydney. Barty avenged that loss in 7-6 (6), 3-6, 6-2, quarterfinal triumph.
Multiple rain delays did not dampen the Aussie’s spirit today as the first Premier Mandatory semifinal for both women was a mental grind with rain stoppages and restarts throughout the day.
"The conditions were a bit different to what they usually are in Miami," Barty said. "Usually here it's warm and pretty lively. With the weather today and how cool it was, it changed conditions dramatically, so it took a little bit of time to get used to that and accepting the fact that I couldn't quite play the way that I wanted to."
The woman who once took a two-year sabbatical from tennis to play pro cricket spent some of the rain delay working on her grass game. Barty told ESPN's Rennae Stubbs she passed time watching golf and drinking coffee.
Barty played a cleaner match throughout committing 19 unforced errors compared to 33 for Kontaveit in an efficient 77-minute victory.
The 21st-seeded Kontaveit led 2-0 when spitting showers escalated into a near three-hour rain delay.
When play resumed, Barty broke then stamped a love hold to level before rain forced another delay.
Though Kontaveit hits a heavy ball and plays flatter than the Aussie, she struggled to keep shots within the lines when changing direction.
A rainbow peaked over Hard Rock Stadium when the pair took the court again at 6:38 p.m. Nature’s sky painting didn’t inspire Kontaveit, who launched a wayward double faulted and slapped a forehand into net gifting a second break and a 4-3 lead to the world No. 11.
Variation and a comfort level from all areas of the court are assets that make Barty a challenging opponent. Barty showed it smashing away a break point to navigate a tricky hold in the eighth game.
A second straight sloppy service game saw Kontaveit spit up another double fault to gift the opening set that spanned 39 minutes but began nearly six hours earlier.
Kontaveit coaxed a forehand error breaking for a 2-1 second-seat lead, but could not sustain it. Kontaveit’s tendency to force drive down the lines prematurely cost her as Barty broke back.
The Australian’s depth backed Kontaveit up behind the baseline where she floated a forehand long as Barty broke for 5-3.
On her second match point, Barty slid an ace down the middle to move to within one win of her fourth career title—and first since she won the 2018 Nottingham crown on grass.