Ashleigh Barty Wins Australian Open Women’s Singles Champion


MELBOURNE, Australia – Ashleigh Barty defeated US Danielle Collins on Saturday night to end a 44-year wait by becoming the first Australian player to win the Australian Open singles title since 1978.

Barty defeated Collins 6-3, 7-6 (2) in straight sets.

Born and raised in Australia’s steamy state of Queensland, Barty has been in #1 for over 100 weeks and has become an immensely popular figure in his home country. His matches during the Open this year attracted huge television audiences.

But until now, his most important victories were far from home. He won his first Grand Slam singles title in 2019. French Open and won Wimbledon last year when most Australians were unable to travel due to coronavirus restrictions.

This year, however, he managed to throw a “Barty Party” at his home and beat 27th seed Collins in prime time in Melbourne. He was enigmatic throughout, but there was nothing understated in his celebration. After clearing two service timeouts to rally from a 1-5 lead in the second set, he dominated the tiebreak and finished off with a forehand pass winner. Barty threw his head back and howled at length before hugging his former doubles partner and Australian Casey Dellacqua, sitting on the sidelines and now retired and working as a television analyst.

He was presented with the winner’s trophy by one of his role models, Evonne Goolagong-Cawley, four-time Australian Open singles champion who, like Barty, has Native Australian heritage. Two women from different eras – Goolagong Cawley is 70 years old – have developed a deep bond, and it was a surprise when Goolagong Cawley showed up on Saturday night.

It was a bold result for Barty, with a dominant performance throughout the tournament. Barty did not lose a set in six games, controlling the game with a precise and powerful first serve, a sharply chiseled backhand and versatile topspin forehand. He earned 82 percent of his first serve points against an aggressive returnee Collins, battling some tense patches of play to find angles and lines when he needed them most.

Collins will definitely regret the second set.

Collins, 28, was a two-time NCAA singles champion at the University of Virginia and didn’t turn fully pro until the age of 22, unlike Barty, who started his professional career at age 14.

An aggressive goalkeeper and fierce opponent, Collins reached her first Grand Slam final in a series of matches in Melbourne, including three-set victories against Clara Tauson in the third round and Elise Mertens in the fourth round. Collins will rise to #10 in the world rankings following his run, making him the top-ranked American for the first time.

But it couldn’t stop Barty from ending a national drought. The last Australian to win the Australian Open in singles was Chris O’Neil, an unseeded player outside of the top 100 who had not run another deep run in a major tournament after his 1978 victory.

The 25-year-old Barty has now cemented his place as the best player in the world and has won three Grand Slam singles titles on three different floors, red clay at the French Open, grass at Wimbledon and hard court in Melbourne. The only Grand Slam title she has yet to win is the US Open, but she won the women’s doubles title in New York in 2018 with her American partner CoCo Vandeweghe.

At 5 feet-5, Barty is not physically impressive in a sport that is increasingly populated by taller players like 5 feet-10 Collins. But Barty is a real menace, able to adjust his play on the fly and especially hitting a wide variety of shots. He can and does use the forehand with overwhelming force, but at the same time, using a technically sound one-handed slice backhand frequently and devastatingly, he slides down after the bounce and prefers finesse that many players find difficult to resist. Barty is comfortable on the net as well, and has some of the best voles in the game and a fantastic overhead, as his doubles prowess clearly shows.

A genius took an indefinite hiatus from the game at the age of 18 after the 2014 US Open and struggled to adjust to the expectations of traveling and playing on the tour. He previously played professional cricket back to tennis When he started working with Craig Tyzzer, an experienced Australian coach, in February 2016.

They formed a pretty good partnership and worked to improve Barty’s game while maintaining his mental health and enthusiasm. Didn’t compete in the tour for most of 2020 due to coronavirus restrictions and then successful summer He chose to return to Australia after losing in 2021. third round of the US Open instead of staying abroad and competing in the WTA Finals in Mexico.

Barty was tired and homesick after months on the road, and the decision to take a break paid off in early 2022. 11-0, he won the title in Adelaide and now won seven matches, most notably at the Australian Open. .



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