If the WTA Brisbane semifinals are any indication, the world’s top women are rounding into form at the same time in the build-up to Australian Open 2020.
Pat Rafter Arena on Saturday afternoon will play host to a pair of stellar semifinals, with top-eight seeds Karolina Pliskova, Naomi Osaka, Petra Kvitova and Madison Keys all booking their places in the final four.
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Keys was the first to progress on Friday with a 6-4 6-1 win over fellow American Danielle Collins.
Collins, an Australian Open semifinalist in 2019, had routed Elina Svitolina and Yulia Putintseva in the previous two rounds for the collective loss of just three games.
Yet Keys handled Collins in the manner in which she saw off Marie Bouzkova and Sam Stosur in her two earlier matches, and arrives in the semifinals having not dropped a set.
There, the big-hitting No.8 seed will face Kvitova, a champion in Brisbane in 2011 and last year’s Australian Open runner-up.
Kvitova stopped giant-killer Jennifer Brady, who after coming through the qualifying rounds had stunned Maria Sharapova and world No.1 Ash Barty in back-to-back matches.
The Czech, the fifth seed in Brisbane, will be ready for Keys, who has won three of their past five meetings – including at Australian Open 2015, the year in which Keys broke through with a semifinal run.
Yet Keys was equally wary of Kvitova after the two-time Wimbledon champion brushed Brady aside 6-4 6-2.
“Petra is Petra - great serve, great forehand. It seems like every year she comes out and she's gotten something else in her game a little bit better,” Keys commented.
Following Keys and Kvitova onto Pat Rafter Arena was Osaka, who battled for three sets in the match of the day before eventually overcoming fellow top-10 star Kiki Bertens.
.@naomiosaka #大坂なおみ seals her place in the @BrisbaneTennis semifinal!
— WTA (@WTA) January 10, 2020
Gets the win over Bertens 6-3, 3-6, 6-3! pic.twitter.com/0djK56fU66
The 6-3 3-6 6-3 win – her third straight three-set match of the week – sent Osaka into the Brisbane semifinals for the second straight year; this time she will face defending champion Karolina Pliskova, who saw off Alison Riske 7-6(6) 6-3 under lights on Friday night.
It will be a rematch of their pulsating Australian Open semifinal of 2019, which Osaka won off the back of 56 winners before eventually beating Kvitova to win her second Grand Slam title.
“It was 6-4 in the third, which is a match that could both ways,” Pliskova recalled of that semifinal loss to Osaka at Melbourne Park.
“And I remember I beat her in the final of Tokyo, so I’ve got some good memories too.
“I saw her playing today and she played some great tennis so it’s going to be a good match and challenging.”
Indeed, Osaka is one of the world’s in-form players, extending her winning streak to 14 with victory over Bertens.
She has not lost since falling to Belinda Bencic in the fourth round of the US Open, and is aiming for her third title from her last four tournaments.
"I think I started off really well today as opposed to yesterday (against Sofia Kenin)," Osaka said.
"In the third set, I just decided to stop complaining and try to fight for every point."