Ashleigh Barty marched into her sixth semi-final of the season Thursday, describing her victory over Petra Martic in Wuhan as one of the best matches she’s played in recent times.

The world No 1 impressed in a highly entertaining quarter-final that saw her fire 39 winners en route to a 7-6 (8/6), 3-6, 6-3 win against Martic.

Barty now gets a shot at revenge when she takes on powerful Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka on Friday in a rematch of their Wuhan semi-final last year.

Against Martic, Barty fell behind early in the first and third sets, but retaliated with some creative shot-making to reach the last four for a third year in a row.

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“I think that was a very, very high-quality match. I think that was probably one of the better matches that I’ve played in recent times,” said the reigning French Open champion.

“It could have gone either way. I was happy how I was able to fight in the end, put a lot of pressure on her in a lot of those service games in the third.”

Martic, the world No 22 from Croatia, had not lost a three-setter since March, but saw her streak of 16 on-the-trot snapped by the relentless Barty.

“She’s one of the best movers on the tour,” Barty said of Martic. “That (streak) doesn’t surprise me.”

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Sabalenka, the defending champion and seeded nine this week, overcame a second-set dip to halt the inspired run of Kazakh wildcard Elena Rybakina 6-3, 1-6, 6-1 on Thursday.

The 21-year-old is tied at 2-2 in her head-to-head with Barty.

Sabalenka improved her strong career record on Chinese courts to 27 wins against just six losses -– including 10 victories on the trot in Wuhan.

“I just feel that I am thinking clean and I am moving much better,” said Sabalenka, who is enjoying a resurgence this month after struggling to adapt to her rapid rise earlier in the year.

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“That’s what we’ve been working on. Takes a little while.”

Two-time champion Petra Kvitova also booked her spot in the Wuhan semi-final line-up, easing past 19-year-old Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine 6-2, 6-4 in just 72 minutes.

Kvitova, who has been dealing with a forearm injury that forced her out of the French Open this year and is requiring her to wear a sleeve in her matches this week, reached her first semi-final since Stuttgart in April.

The 29-year-old Kvitova will face off with Alison Riske on Friday after the American upset third-seeded Elina Svitolina 6-1, 6-3 to record the third top-five victory of the year.

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Riske had never beaten Svitolina before and knew she was in for a gruelling affair. The first game alone lasted 14 minutes, before Riske managed to take control of the match.

“I knew it was going to be a battle. I think mentally I was just prepared for that,” said the world number 35. “I’m just really pleased with the way I competed.”

Riske will be contesting her sixth career semi-final at a Chinese event.