Ash sizzles to start her summer
WORLD No.1 Ash Barty has started her summer in perfect fashion, clinching the Adelaide International title on Sunday.
The Australian Open remains Barty’s major goal, especially after she ticked off her childhood dream of winning Wimbledon last year, and she will again enter the grand slam tournament in supreme form.
She will carry the hopes of a nation that hasn’t seen a local man or woman win an Australian Open singles title since Chris O‘Neil in 1978.
It’s the third-straight year Barty has claimed a title on home soil and fifth time in a row she has made at least a final before the Melbourne Park major.
Barty maintained her trend in Adelaide of rising to the task once she was challenged, posting a runaway 6-3 6-2 win over 14th-ranked Elena Rybakina, of Kazakhstan.
The 25-year-old superstar struck more winners (17-15) and fewer unforced errors (13-26) than Rybakina in a masterful display.
“I’d like to start by congratulating Elena on a fantastic week with her team,” Barty said.
“It’s never easy starting the season off the back of a tough pre-season, but it was really fun to play out here with you today and I wish you the best of luck for the rest of the year.
“I’d, of course, love to thank the South Australian government for making this tournament possible.
“I know it’s been a challenging 18 months, two years for all of us and it’s so nice to be here to enjoy a fantastic week.
“You guys have made this week exceptional for me; you’ve made it so much fun and you’ve brought that spark back in my tennis, so thank you so much, I really do appreciate it.”
Barty also thanked her team, including coach Craig Tyzzer, for sticking with her “through the thick and the thin”.
Opponents rarely get more than one chance against Barty, but Rybakina paid dearly for not capitalising on consecutive opportunities that would have seen her grab an early lead.
Rybakina’s error-riddled service game included her dumping a straightforward backhand drive volley into the net at 30-all, before a wild forehand gifted Barty a 5-3 lead.
Everything happened in a hurry from there with Barty taking seven games in a row to transform a competitive contest into a lopsided encounter.
Barty starved Rybakina of shots on her favoured backhand wing and exposed her 184cm rival’s movement.
It helped that Rybakina’s serve, which delivered a combined 18 aces across her past two matches, wasn’t as accurate as usual, with only 42 per cent of her first serves landing in.
Barty moves onto the Sydney Tennis Classic next.