A FIRST-time Grand Slam finalist will be crowned at the end of the semi-finals after 22nd seed Jennifer Brady and 25th seed Karolina Muchova both came back from a set down to win their respective quarter finals. It is an unlikely semi, though it is Brady’s second career Grand Slam semi-final after reaching the last four at the US Open last year.

The 25-year-old American reached the semis of the US Open after not playing a Top 20 player. To her credit, Brady did not drop a set, before running into eventual winner Naomi Osaka who won in three sets. Ironically, that could be the Australian Open final if both players win their semi-finals. Since the semi-final run at the US Open, Brady has reached two semi-finals.

Against compatriot Jessica Pegula, Brady fought back after dropping the first set to win 4-6 6-2 6-1 in an hour and 40 minutes. Brady served seven aces to zero and dominated her service games, with an 82 per cent winning record off her first serve. Unfortunately for the higher ranked player, she only recorded a 49 per cent serving efficiency, and won 38 per cent of of her second serve points.

Pegula does not have the same power off her serve, but she was more consistent, and it showed in the first set. Breaking four times herself, Pegula hit the same amount of in-court winners (15-15), and only three more unforced errors (32-29) during the loss.

“I think I felt really good out there physically,” Brady said post-match. “I could maybe see on the other side of the net, maybe Jess was a little bit tired there. That definitely helped me mentally.

“It just gave me a little bit more confidence knowing that I’m doing pretty good, maybe she’s a little bit tired, now is my chance to really step up here and take advantage of that.”

The big surprise of the day was giant-killer Muchova’s upset come-from-behind win over top seed and home nation hero Ash Barty. The Czech 25th seed won 1-6 6-3 6-2 in just under two hours of match play, with a lot of the talk centered around a controversial injury timeout for Muchova to clear her head. Barty had no problems with it post-match, though it was a turning point, as Muchova broke back and then took the second and deciding set to win in an hour and 57 minutes.

Barty hit four more winners (21-17) as well as four more unforced errors (37-33) but could not capitalise on break point chances after the first set, breaking just once in the last two sets, as Muchova broke four times in that period. After struggling early, the Czech came good, winning 63 per cent of her second serve, much higher than Barty’s 50 per cent. Both players were fairly even, though Muchova’s higher efficiency at the net, with 13 of 23 points helped her get an upperhand there.

“I actually have one memory from here when I was a kid and got my first notebook,” Muchova said post-match. “I put it as a wallpaper Rod Laver, the stadium. I was just, like, I hope one day it would be nice to play there or to look at the arena or whatever. Now I just won a match and make it to semifinals. It’s amazing.”

Brady said she was looking forward to taking on Muchova, with the Czech holding a 1-0 advantage over the American in their head-to-head battle.

“She’s crafty,” Brady said. “She looks to move forward, has an all-court game. She’s really athletic. I hope it will be a good, competitive match. Yeah, I’m looking forward to it.”

QUARTER FINALS RESULTS:

[25] Karolina Muchova (CZE) defeated [1] Ash Barty (AUS) 1-6 6-3 6-2
[22] Jennifer Brady (USA) defeated Jessica Pegula (USA) 4-6 6-2 6-1

Picture credit: Getty Images