ADELAIDE (REUTERS) - World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty delighted the Memorial Drive crowd by breezing through to the Adelaide International semi-finals with a comfortable 6-3, 6-4 victory over Sofia Kenin on Friday (Jan 7).

Barty, the 2020 Adelaide champion, dominated from the start and showed no signs of the rust on display in her win over Coco Gauff in the previous round of the Australian Open warmup event.

In their first meeting since Kenin upset Barty in the 2020 Australian Open semi-final, the American struggled with her serve while her top-ranked opponent was nearly flawless, producing 17 aces and winning 31 of 32 first serve points.

Barty notched the crucial break midway through the opening set and carried that momentum through to the second, wrapping up the win in just over an hour without facing a single break point.

"I felt pretty good today. I was able to look after my service games pretty well and it was a lot of fun playing out here and getting more court time," Barty said.

"It's nice to come out here and be tested from the start and know that you need to bring your very best level. Looking at these last two matches, there's still work to do."