ASH CAN HANDLE THE HEAT

Serena Williams $5 Ashleigh Barty $8 Naomi Osaka $9 Karolina Pliskova $11 Simona Halep $11 Aryna Sabalenka $15 Madison Keys $21

The pressure of expectation will be immense over the next fortnight, but Barty not only has the game but also the mental strength to collect a second grand slam win after her success in Paris last year.

“She’s been doing such a great job after winning (at) Roland Garros, becoming world no.1 and dealing with the pressure,” Dokic said.

“She needs to focus on the tennis, what she needs to do in her matches and (to beat) her opponents. But, embrace it ... that there is that pressure there ... use the crowd.

“That’s what I did. That’s why I didn’t really struggle

Novak Djokovic $2.20 Rafael Nadal $5.50 Daniil Medvedev $9 Roger Federer $11 Stefanos Tsitsipas $15 Dominic Thiem $23 Nick Kyrgios $29 playing at home, playing in Australia. In fact, I loved it.

“Everyone reacts differently. Sam Stosur has talked about it publicly. That she absolutely struggles playing in Australia with that pressure. She always wanted to win here so badly.

“For Ash, I think she will be able to use the crowd to her advantage. She’s just been handling everything so well. She’s so humble. I don’t think she’ll have too many problems embracing the whole experience.”

Chris O’Neill was the last Australian woman to claim the crown Down Under in 1978.

Barty progressed to the quarter-finals at Melbourne Park in 2019, matching Dokic’s own best result in 2009.

“The Australian Open I think was a breakthrough for her last year,” Dokic said.

“She beat (Maria) Sharapova (in the fourth round). That was the breakthrough that she needed.”

Dokic has kept a close eye on Barty ever since she won the Wimbledon junior title at the age of 15 in 2011.

She was the first Aussie girl to win any junior grand slam singles title since Dokic at the 1998 US Open. Even then her “great game” stood out.

“It’s different to a lot of