Mirjana Lucic-Barni ended Jennifer Brady’s Australian Open with a 6-4 6-2 win over the world number 116.
Both women made a positive start to the match on return with both players creating break point opportunities, however the server came out on top in the opening six games. However it was the tall Croatian, who was looking to reach her first Australian Open quarterfinal, who broke in the seventh game with her big forehand for a 4-3 lead. Lucid-Baroni, who won 79% of first service points in the match, consolidated her serve comfortably and after 44 minutes the world number 79 sealed the set 6-4.
At the start of the second set both players exchanged breaks with hard fought manoeuvring and determination. Brady was lacking that killer instinct as she only converted 1 out of 6 break point opportunities. The same couldn’t be said about the Croatian who finished her opponent off quickly breaking in the fifth and seventh games to seal Brady’s fate. Unforced errors and frustration lead to Brady’s defeat as she fell to a 6-4 6-2 after 1 hour and 44 minutes.
The 34 year old Croatian who knocked third seed Agnieszka Radwanska out of the tournament played well today, using power and placement to frustrate Brady. The American shouldn’t be downhearted by her performance, as she reached the second week of a grand slam for the first time. As a result of her great run she will climb 38 places in the world rankings to number 78 in the world. For Lucic-Baroni it is her first grand slam quarterfinal since Wimbledon in 1999. An amazing story of longevity and determination, which sends a message to everyone that you should never give.
In the last 8 Mirjana Lucic-Baroni will either play fifth seed and US Open finalist Karolina Pliskova or 22nd seed and home favourite Daria Gavrilova.
