Barty looking to keep rising on the North American hard court swing

WATCH —Tennis Channel recaps Barty's quarterfinal win over Kiki Bertens in Toronto:

The Australian Ashleigh Barty is off to a good start during the hard-court season, reaching the semifinals of Montreal before falling to No. 1 Simona Halep.

Despite the defeat, the 22-year-old was fairly happy with her performance. “Look, she's the best player in the world. I didn't feel like I played a bad match necessarily,” Barty said. “I played some really good points, especially early on. She came up with the goods.

"I didn't feel like I was belted off the court by any means. But she's No. 1 in the world.”

Having retired in her teens and returned to tour in 2016, she says she had problems with injuries when she first came back but is now playing some of her best tennis.

"I feel probably as best as I ever have on and off the court. No doubt they're helping each other," Barty said during the tournament, and is aiming high the next few weeks.

"I love the courts. I love the conditions. I feel like this is potentially always a good time of year for me."

Barty won the grass-court event at Nottingham this season and also reached the final of Sydney. "I think it's been really consistent. That was kind of the goal for me, was to keep that consistency, a good level of tennis to, you know, cement my spot in the top 20," she said.

Barty is currently ranked a career-high No. 16 on the WTA Tour.

ATP Toronto

Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev headline the Rogers Cup in Toronto. Watch live coverage from four courts on Tennis Channel Plus beginning Monday, August 6th at 11:00 A.M.