Barty is primed to become the first local since Chris O'Neil in 1978 to win the Australian Open.
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.
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.
Jarmila Gajdosova and Matthew Ebden became the first locals to win a main draw Australian Open title since 2005 when they clinched the mixed doubles on Sunday.
Li Na's bid for a second Grand Slam title ended tearfully with an injured ankle, a bruised head and a heart-breaking defeat to Victoria Azarenka, but she could still laugh off her 'stupid' falls after a gallant failure in the Australian Open final.
Rafael Nadal's hopes of completing a rare calendar year Grand Slam ended on Thursday when the Spaniard pulled out of his highly-anticipated Wimbledon semi-final showdown against Australian Nick Kyrgios with an abdominal strain.
China's Li Na sent a wayward Maria Sharapova crashing out of the Australian Open semi-finals on Thursday and says there will be no repeat of her capitulation to Kim Clijsters in the 2011 Melbourne Park final.
Serena Williams ended the fairytale run of Mirjana Lucic-Baroni at the Australian Open on Thursday with a crushing 6-2, 6-1 win that set up a final against her sister Venus.
Roger Federer fended off a withering challenge from Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to prevail 7-6, 4-6, 7-6, 3-6, 6-3 in Rod Laver Arena and reach the semi-finals of the Australian Open tennis on Wednesday.
Serena Williams trounced Maria Kirilenko at the Australian Open on Monday, setting up an all-American quarter-final with her would-be successor Sloane Stephens after Andy Murray had put flagging Frenchman Gilles Simon out of his misery.
Maria Sharapova missed out on a third successive 'double-bagel' but humbled Venus Williams 6-1, 6-3 to charge into the fourth round of the Australian Open on Friday.
Take a walk around the Grand Slam Oval at Melbourne Park and it is easy to see why Australia has such high expectations of tennis success.
Images from Sunday's action at the Australian Open in Melbourne.
Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and other top tennis players hammed it up in exhibition matches on the eve of the Australian Open to raise money for victims of the country's devastating floods on Sunday.
Reactions to Novak Djokovic winning his 20th Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon
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.
Veteran tennis star Leander Paes and his partner Martina Hingis, who won the Australian Open mixed doubles title last month, met India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Thursday.
Even after 20 Grand Slam titles, the tears gushing down Roger Federer's cheeks after winning his sixth Australian Open crown on Sunday showed the competitive fires still rage within the 36-year-old Swiss.
Novak Djokovic weathered a gallant challenge from a tenacious Lleyton Hewitt to send the last Australian in the draw packing and make the quarter-finals of the Australian Open on Monday.
Serena Williams was bundled out of the Australian Open on Monday, losing her fourth-round match to Russian world number 56 Ekaterina Makarova 6-2, 6-3 on a scorching day at Rod Laver Arena.
Kim Clijsters was courage personified as the defending champion shook off a painful ankle injury and saved four match points to overhaul China's Li Na 4-6, 7-6, 6-4 and reach the quarter-finals of the Australian Open on Sunday.
Images from day four of the Australian Open 2012 tennis tournament in Melbourne, on Thursday.
German youngster Alexander Zverev pulled off the biggest win of his career on Sunday when he beat world number two Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-3 to win the Italian Open on Sunday.
Images from Day 8 of the 2022 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Monday.
Images from Monday's action at the Australian Open.
Federer may have set the benchmark on how to do tennis retirements. He didn't go out in a blaze of lonely glory but in the warmth of friendships formed over the years, observes Deepti Patwardhan.
Rafael Nadal weathered an early serving storm from Kevin Anderson before dismantling the South African giant with a 7-5, 6-1, 6-4 masterclass to reach the quarter-finals of the Australian Open on Sunday.
A fatigued Novak Djokovic stared down a ferocious challenge from Rafa Nadal to retain his Australian Open title on Sunday in the longest Grand Slam final played.
A fatigued Novak Djokovic stared down a ferocious challenge from Rafa Nadal to defend his Australian Open title early on Monday in the longest grand slam final ever played.
A second title eluded Leander Paes at this year's Australian Open as he and partner Elena Vesnina ended runners-up in the mixed doubles event after being outplayed by Horia Tecau and Bethanie Mattek-Sands in the summit clash in Melbourne on Sunday.
Russians Svetlana Kuznetsova and Vera Zvonareva ground down the Italian pairing of Roberta Vinci and Sara Errani 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 to win the Australian Open women's doubles title on Friday.
Rafa Nadal came from behind to topple great rival Roger Federer 6-7, 6-2, 7-6, 6-4 on Thursday in an enthralling Australian Open semi-final of the highest quality.
Defending champion Novak Djokovic gritted his teeth after suffering a leg injury to grind down David Ferrer 6-4, 7-6, 6-1 at the Australian Open on Wednesday and set up an intriguing re-match of last year's final with Andy Murray.
Roger Federer thrashed Juan Martin Del Potro 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 to reach the Australian Open semi-finals on Tuesday, exorcising a Grand Slam demon against the Argentine in his 1,000th tour match.
World No 1 Novak Djokovic praised the battling spirit of Nicolas Mahut after he thrashed the injured Frenchman 6-0, 6-1, 6-1 in 74 minutes on Saturday to reach the Australian Open last 16.
The Serbian top seed won a fourth successive title at the All England Club to take his overall Grand Slam tally to 21.
Andy Roddick's 11th Australian Open campaign ended in disappointment on Thursday when he was forced to retire against Australian Lleyton Hewitt when trailing two sets to one.
Serena Williams, unable to defend her 2009 and 2010 titles last year due to a freak foot injury, found herself dive-bombed by crickets that made merry on a balmy evening at Rod Laver Arena.
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