Unseeded Australian Ashleigh Barty continued her surprising run on her native soil on Thursday, sweeping past 10th-seeded Elise Mertens of Belgium 6-3, 6-3 to advance to the semifinals of the Sydney International.
The win came a day after Barty, 22 years old and ranked No. 15 in the world, knocked off top-seeded and world No. 1 Simona Halep on the hardcourt. On Friday, Barty will face seventh-seeded Kiki Bertens of Netherlands, a 6-2, 6-2 quarterfinal winner over qualifier Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan.
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