Ash Barty of Australia (pictured) will face German Angelique Kerber in the semifinals of Wimbledon 2021 on Thursday in London. Photo by Neil Hall/EPA-EFE
July 6 (UPI) -- No. 1 Ash Barty advanced to the Wimbledon semifinals by defeating fellow Australian Ajla Tomljanovic, while men's No. 2 Daniil Medvedev of Russia suffered an upset loss to Poland's Hubert Hurkacz on Tuesday in London.
Barty needed just 66 minutes to win in straight sets at Centre Court at the All England Club. She fired five aces and 23 winners and converted 6 of 11 break points in the quarterfinal victory. Tomljanovic totaled just five winners and converted 2 of 4 break points.
"This is a dream come true," Barty said in her on-court interview. "I know you hear that a lot, but this is my dream and I'm extremely grateful."
Barty will battle German Angelique Kerber in the semifinals Thursday in London. Kerber advanced Tuesday with a straight sets win over Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic.
"It's the ultimate test," Barty said of the Kerber match. "She has had success here before. I love the matchup. I love playing her. She is an incredible competitor and knows her way around this court. I hope I can play well."
No. 4 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus and No. 13 Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic also advanced with straight-sets quarterfinal wins.
Sabalenka beat Tunisia's Ons Jabeur 6-4, 6-3 in 1 hour, 14 minutes. Pliskova beat Switzerland's Viktorija Golubic 6-2, 6-2 in 1 hour, 21 minutes.
The winner of the Barty-Kerber match will face the winner of the Pliskova-Sabalenka match in the Wimbledon 2021 women's singles final at 9 a.m. EDT Saturday on ESPN.
Just one men's match took place Tuesday, with Hurkacz upsetting Medvedev in five sets to reach the quarterfinals. The match started Monday, but was suspended due to rain.
Medvedev led 6-2, 6-7 (2-7), 6-3, 3-4 at the time of the suspension, but lost 6-3, 6-3 in the final two sets of the three-hour match.
Hurkacz faces 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer of Switzerland in the quarterfinals Wednesday at the All England Club.
"It's unbelievable, the way [Federer] plays and the titles he has won," Hurkacz said in his post-match interview. "It is going to be fun. I'll be hoping to get a little bit of support."
No. 1 Novak Djokovic of Serbia, No. 9 Matteo Berrettini of Italy and No. 12 Denis Shapovalov of Canada are among the other top men's players who clinched spots in the quarterfinals.
The Wimbledon 2021 men's singles final will air at 9 a.m. EDT Sunday on ESPN.
