Ashleigh Barty became the first home player to reach the Australian Open women’s singles final in 42 years as she beat Madison Keys in straight sets on a jubilant Rod Laver Arena.
Wimbledon champion Barty, 25, won 6-1 6-3 against the unseeded American.
Now she is one win away from becoming the first Australian – man or woman – to win the singles since Christine O’Neil won the title in 1978.
Top seed Barty will face Iga Swiatek or Danielle Collins in Saturday’s final.
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Polish seventh seed Swiatek, who won the 2020 French Open as a 19-year-old, is aiming to reach her second Grand Slam final.
American 27th seed Collins is bidding for her first major final, less than a year after she had surgery for endometriosis.
Whoever wins later on Thursday looks set to face a tough task stopping Barty.
The world number one reached the semi-finals at Melbourne Park in 2020, with defeats in the quarter-finals coming either side.
This year, Barty has so far looked unstoppable and unburdened by the weight of Australian expectation.
“It’s just unreal – as an Aussie we are spoiled that we are a Grand Slam nation, and now we have a chance to play for a title,” she said.
The 25-year-old Queenslander has been in supreme form in 2022, having now won all 10 of her singles matches this year.
After beating three top-20 players to win the Adelaide International title, she has continued that dominance in Melbourne.
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Strong serving has been the bedrock of her success, with her returning game – characterised by a tricky backhand slice – also proving difficult to unpick.
Barty has not dropped a set in her opening six matches, conceding just 21 games on her way to the final.
Key, a former US Open runner-up looking to reach her second major final, was nervous from the start and never looked like troubling Barty.
