Defending champion and world number one Novak Djokovic won his third-straight Australian Open crown, his ninth in total.
Barty is primed to become the first local since Chris O'Neil in 1978 to win the Australian Open.
Novak Djokovic deserves a "little star" next to his name for a spectacular 2015 season that saw him win three grand slams among his 11 titles but the men's game is not simply a matter of the Serb versus the rest, Roger Federer said.
Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza and her Romanian partner Horia Tecau's dream run came to an end in the mixed doubles event of the Australian Open on Sunday.
Novak Djokovic showed a few signs of rustiness after the off-season but still comfortably reached the second round of the Australian Open with a 6-3, 7-6 (7-2), 6-1 victory over Lukas Lacko on Monday.
Novak Djokovic kicked off his season in style with a 7-5, 7-5 win over Canadian talent Denis Shapovalov on his favourite Rod Laver Arena court on Tuesday before returning to lead Serbia to a doubles victory that sealed their ATP Cup opener 2-1.
Images from Day 1 at the Australian Open.
Images from Day 3 of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Wednesday.
Victoria Azarenka refuses to accept that Maria Sharapova's greater experience could be the defining factor when they meet in the Australian Open women's final on Saturday.
Images from Day 8 of the 2022 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Monday.
A resurgent Svetlana Kuznetsova stunned former World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki in an absorbing encounter on Rod Laver Arena to reach the quarter-finals of the Australian Open with a 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 victory on Monday.
After two years in the spotlight as Australian Open champion, Victoria Azarenka was reduced to a spectator against Agnieszka Radwanska as she crashed out of the quarter-finals in a bout of self-flagellation on Wednesday.
Novak Djokovic will need to spend some time on the sidelines recovering from a muscle tear that hindered him in the later rounds of the Australian Open, the Serbian said as he celebrated his ninth Melbourne Park title on Monday.
Brady saw four match points slip through her fingers as she served it out nervously but finally celebrated the win when Muchova fired a forehand long.
Stefanos Tsitsipas credited his stellar comeback win against Rafa Nadal in Wednesday's Australian Open quarter-final to his peace of mind, saying he had attained a state of "nirvana" during the match despite falling back by two sets.
World number one Nadal made the announcement at Melbourne Park's Rod Laver Arena during the "Rally for Relief" event.
Andy Murray embarks on his first Grand Slam campaign as world number one with much stronger title credentials, even if he has lost five finals at Melbourne Park.
The Australian Open will lose one of its giant killers when South Korean Chung Hyeon meets American Tennys Sandgren in an unlikely quarter-final showdown at the Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday.
Li Na wore down Agnieszka Radwanska with a barrage of power-hitting to beat the fourth seed 7-5, 6-3 and advance to her third semi-final at the Australian Open on Tuesday.
Images from Sunday's action at the Australian Open in Melbourne.
Images from Monday's action at the Australian Open.
Silent assassin Agnieszka Radwanska ended Victoria Azarenka's bid for a hat-trick of titles at Melbourne Park on Wednesday and reached her maiden Australian Open semi-final with a 6-1, 5-7, 6-0 win.
Heartbroken by Djokovic in two five-set epics in Melbourne and the US Open last year, the eighth-seeded Swiss played out of his skin to upset his Grand Slam nemesis 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 9-7 in an exhilarating four hours.
Third seed Maria Sharapova was dumped out of the Australian Open on Monday with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 fourth round loss to Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova on Rod Laver Arena.
Picking up her racquet bag and marching straight out of Rod Laver Arena without a nod or a wave, Maria Sharapova's abrupt exit after her fourth-round loss to Dominika Cibulkova on Monday spoke volumes of her disdain for a forgettable Australian Open.
Serena Williams admitted that a bad back sustained during practice hampered her movement during her shock fourth round loss to Ana Ivanovic on Sunday, but refused to blame the injury for her stunning exit that blew the Australian Open wide open.
Images from the Australian Open matches played on Sunday.
Serbia's Ana Ivanovic stunned World No 1 Serena Williams at the Australian Open on Sunday with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 fourth-round upset at Rod Laver Arena.
Images from the Australian Open matches played in Melbourne on Saturday.
Images from the Friday's play at the Australian Open.
Victoria Azarenka said the prospect of winning a third straight Australian Open title is an inspiration, not a pressure, after booking her place in the third round.
'I feel honoured. I feel lucky to achieve one more very special thing in my tennis career. I don't care much if I am the one or not the one or the best of the history. For me, it's about enjoying nights like today. That means everything for me.'
The thought of playing a long match in the extreme Melbourne heat resulted in a sleepless night for Serena Williams, but the World No 1 need not have worried as she strode swiftly into the Australian Open third round on Wednesday.
Images from the Australian Open matches played in Melbourne on Tuesday.
The 2011 US Open champion could not wait to join her friend for the 'Barty Party'.
Beaten in just over two hours, Nadal won barely a third of the match's points, was broken five times and conjured only a single break point in the third set, which the Serb saved.
A couple of months ago, the 35-year-old Spaniard was worried that he might never return to the court again.
Fire-fighters went on alert as the mercury crept towards an expected maximum of 44 degrees Celsius (111 F), the highest since Black Saturday bushfires in 2009 that killed about 180 people in the southeastern state of Victoria.
Ash Barty has become the first local woman to reach the final of an Australian Open in 42 years.
Defending champion Victoria Azarenka suffered a panic attack trying to close out her Australian Open semi-final against American teenager Sloane Stephens on Thursday and needed a long medical timeout before setting up a final against Li Na.
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