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Former Australia captain Steve Smith has praised the progress of fellow Australian star Ashleigh Barty after she progressed to the semi-final of the Australian Open 2022. The 32-year-old believes Barty's performance speaks volumes and can go all the way. The versatile all-rounder, part of Australia's Ashes-winning squad took to Instagram to share his opinion on the star tennis player.
"She's playing very well and has been outstanding. She gets the opposition players where she wants to get them. She's doing exceptionally well at the moment,” Smith said in a Instagram chat with his fans.
Barty has been in superb form in the last 12 months as she won the prestigious Wimbledon championship. The number one seed was seen make light work of her opponent Jessica Pegula in the quarter-final, who she dispatched in 63 minutes with a 6-2, 6-0 straight set wins. The 25-year-old is scheduled to take on unseeded Madison Keys in the semi-final as she gets one step closer to another major title.
Smith, on the other hand also spoke highly for Indian cricketers KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma, who he thinks are the front runners for the vacant Test captaincy spot. He was also seen congratulating Virat Kohli for his seven-year stint as the skipper of the Indian side. Kohli recently relinquished the Test captaincy after India lost to hosts South Africa 1-2, as yet another series loss was culminated on Team India in the Rainbow Nation.
Both Smith and Barty will have work to do in 2022 after a successful 2021. While, Barty won the Wimbledon, Smith was a member of Australia cricket team led by Aaron Finch who lifted their maiden T20 World Cup trophy. The task remains the same for both Barty and Smith, as she chases a host of titles on the WTA tour. Smith recently won the Ashes series 4-0 against England including a Test where he led the team in absence of Pat Cummins, while Barty is on the verge of winning the Australian Open, having also won the Adelaide Open before the start of the first major of the year.
