Barty bombs but up for Cup
ASH Barty is determined to finish a spectacular season on a high note by steering Australia to its first Fed Cup success since 1974.
A stunning season at grand slam level in singles highlighted by her triumph at Roland Garros came to an end when she was upset by China’s Qiang Wang.
The 23-year-old struggled for her best form and ultimately a rising unforced error count derailed her in the round-of- 16 match 6-2 6-4.
Defending champion Naomi Osaka has an opportunity to match that feat after her success in Melbourne, but Barty and Wimbledon champion Simona Halep are now sidelined.
The Australian said afterwards that although disappointed, reaching the second week of a major was a significant achievement.
“I don’t think the second week of a slam is a missed opportunity,” she said.
“It’s a hell of an effort for all slams to get to the second week. Yes, I would have loved to have done better. It wasn’t to be, but certainly not something I’m stressed about.
“I think it’s easy to put into perspective because of the person I am, the team that I have around me.
“It doesn’t matter whether I win a tennis match or not, I’ve won a Grand Slam or I haven’t. It’s not really something that keeps me up at night.
“I know that I did everything possible to try and prepare as well as I could today and played as well as I could. But in the big moments, it wasn’t there.”
The priority now is to defend the US Open doubles title she won a year ago with CoCo Vandeweghe.
Her partner this year is Victoria Azarenka and the pair are also pushing to qualify for the lucrative season ending championships in Shenzhen in October.
Barty leads the singles race for the same event and will feature in the prestigious championships for the first time.
But it is the opportunity to spearhead an Australian success in women’s team event that is a driving ambition.
Australia will host France in the final to be played in Perth on November 9 and 10.
The Queenslander became the first woman in history to claim every point, either in singles or as part of a doubles team, to lead their nation to a Fed Cup final. “I am very pumped. Probably for the first time in my career, I have actually had an end date for my season, which is really exciting,” Barty said.
“To be able to finish off playing for your country in the last week of the year is really cool. It has been a long time coming for us girls, trying to get into a Fed Cup final, so we are really excited it is at home in Australia as well.
“I know it is expected that the crowd is going to be enormous. I know Perth is going to close to full, so hopefully we can fill it and finish off the season really well.”