Reuters: World number one Ash Barty looked in impressive form as she stormed into the quarter-finals of the Western & Southern Open on Thursday, the Australian happy to play as much as possible on an unusually long stint away from home.

Barty continued her preparations for the US Open by rattling off the first 10 games on her way to crushing former world number one Victoria Azarenka 6-0 6-2 in little more than an hour. The 25-year-old Queenslander stayed at home in 2020 as COVID-19 spread around the world but this season elected to return to the peripatetic life of the tennis professional.

Barty next plays French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova for a place in the Cincinnati semi-finals.

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