Barty in party mood after epic Wuhan win

Ashleigh Barty marched into her sixth semi-final of the season Thursday, describing her victory over Petra Martic in Wuhan as one of the best matches she's played in recent times.

The world number one impressed in a highly-entertaining quarter-final that saw her fire 39 winners en route to a 7-6 (8/6), 3-6, 6-3 win against Martic.

Barty now gets a shot at revenge when she takes on powerful Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka on Friday in a rematch of their Wuhan semi-final last year.

Against Martic, Barty fell behind early in the first and third sets, but retaliated with some creative shot-making to reach the last four for a third year in a row.

"I think that was a very, very high-quality match. I think that was probably one of the better matches that I've played in recent times," said the reigning French Open champion.

"It could have gone either way. I was happy how I was able to fight in the end, put a lot of pressure on her in a lot of those service games in the third."
"She's one of the best movers on the tour," Barty said of Martic. "That (streak) doesn't surprise me."