It was the first time an Australian woman had made the quarter-finals of the Australian Open in a decade.

However, it was the world no.8 who continued her domination in Melbourne taking just over an hour to find the 6-1 6-4 win. Throughout the Open, Kvitová has not been forced into a third set, not even a tiebreak.

"First of all I'm sorry guys, I beat Ashleigh," she said during her on-court interview.

"She's such a nice person and you should be very proud of her, she is great."

It's been an incredible journey for Kvitová, who in December 2016 was robbed at knife-point in her apartment and suffered multiple lacerations to the tendons and nerves on her left hand and fingers while trying to defend herself.

It was only in March 2017 that she regained the use of her left hand before returning to the practice courts in May.

It was the second meeting between the pair this summer, with Kvitová taking out the Sydney International just 10 days ago in what was a thrilling match.

The re-match on Rod Laver Arena had a different start with the Czech breaking in just the second game before going on to quickly win the set, dropping just eight points. 

The second set was a much different match-up, with Barty not going down without a fight but ultimately, the two-time Wimbledon winner would break and take the match.

"It was a very different start to the match, I started better than the final Sydney [International], I served well and I took the first break," Kvitová said.

"In the second she came back, she didn't give me anything for free and I really had to work until the end."

It is just the third time Kvitová has reached the semi-final of the Australian Open.