Petra Kvitova reaches first Grand Slam semi-final since being stabbed in 2016

A ruthless Petra Kvitova trampled on the hopes of the host nation with an emphatic 6-1, 6-4 defeat of Ashleigh Barty to reach her second Australian Open semi-final on Tuesday.

The double Wimbledon champion silenced home fans at a packed Rod Laver Arena, who had barely settled in their seats before the first set was over in a dizzying 27 minutes.

The eighth-seeded Czech faced stiffer resistance from Barty in the second but broke the former cricketer in the ninth game before sealing victory when Barty, seeded 15th, netted a return.

The Czech is in fine form as she took apart local favourite Ashleigh Barty in straight sets

The Czech, who reached the 2012 semi-finals at Melbourne Park, returned to the last four of a Grand Slam for the first time since claiming her second Wimbledon title in 2014.

She will play unseeded American Danielle Collins for a place in Saturday’s final.  

‘First of all, I’m sorry guys,’ Kvitova said, addressing the partisan home crowd left disappointed by Barty’s exit. 

This is the furthest Barty has been at a Grand Slam but she could not compete with Kvitova

‘She’s such a nice person and you should all be very proud of her. It was a great match. She didn’t give me anything for free and I had to fight until the very end.

‘I didn’t think I would ever be back in this great stadium playing at this stage. It feels great.’ 

It is the first semi-final Kvitova has reached since she was stabbed in the hand by an intruder back in Czech Republic in 2016. 

She had four hours of surgery on her left hand and has done remarkably well in two years to get back to the top of the women’s game. 

By beating Barty, she rose to provisional No 1 in the rankings and is one of four players along with Naomi Osaka, Elina Svitolina and Karolina Pliskova who will end the tournament as world No 1.  

Kvitova apologised to the home crowd for knocking Barty out but praised her genuine quality