‘Unbeatable’ Barty into the final eight
Labelled “unbeatable” by Rod Laver this week, Ashleigh Barty has done right by the all-time great with another stunning performance on Rod Laver Arena.
Barty survived her toughest examination of the week to reach a fourth straight Australian Open quarter-final following a straight sets win over rising American star Amanda Anisimova.
Having burned through her first three rounds in 61 minutes or less, Barty knew she was well and truly in a dogfight at the hour-mark of a Sunday special against Anisimova.
The 25-year-old‘s astonishing
serving streak ended after 63 straight holds, but she recovered to close out the straight sets win 6-4 6-3 and set up a final-eight showdown with another American, Jessica Pegula.
With her streak broken, the world No.1 dialled up the pain on her serve – firing down seven aces and her fastest serve of the tournament, a 182km/h bullet, in the 74minute clash.
“She’s an incredible athlete, an incredible competitor. One of her best attributes is she turns up point after point after point,” Barty said of Anisimova.
“It’s just nice to see her back playing her best tennis. She’s a champion. She’s going
to be in a lot of deep stages of a lot of majors in her future, that’s for sure.
“I enjoy sharing the court, testing my game against her. She has an incredible game.
“It was nice to be able to hold firm and bring the points back into my patterns more regularly and the big ones when it mattered most.”
A blown overhead smash
by Anisimova in the seventh game of the second set proved incredibly costly, triggering a double break as the 20-yearold fell to pieces and Barty sealed an impressive win.
It’s the third year in a row Barty has arrived at Melbourne Park as the top seed.
That alone brings with it a certain amount of added pressure – no women’s No.1 has lifted the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup since Serena Williams in 2015. But throw in Australia’s 44-year hoodoo at the event and it’s a giant gorilla on the back of one of Queensland’s finest.
With her performance on Sunday, she’s just six sets from ending yet another drought.