Australian top seed Ashleigh Barty has progressed to the semi-finals of the Cincinnati Open after battling back from a set down to beat Greek player Maria Sakkari.

Barty, who also had to recover from losing the opening set before edging Estonian Anett Kontaveit in the previous round, faced another uphill task after losing the first set on Friday but recovered to eventually ease home 5-7 6-2 6-1 in 105 minutes in Ohio.

“I started the match well and I went away from what was working. Maria took some risks that paid off,” Barty said after the match.

“It was important for me at the start of the second set to go back to basics and what worked before.

“I had to serve well and not give her too many looks at second serves. I tried to bring in my slice to change the tempo of the match.”

French Open champion Barty, currently world No.2, can reclaim the world top spot by reaching the tournament final in the US Open warm-up event.

She now faces Karolina Pliskova or Svetlana Kuznetsova in the last four but added: “I’m just keeping my eye on the ball and if I win matches, the ranking will take care of itself.”