International rivals in awe of Barty on Open eve

ASH Barty’s rivals will be out to gatecrash the party when the world No.1 continues her Australian Open preparation at the Sydney Tennis Classic this week.

Barty’s quest to become the first Aussie woman in more than 40 years to win the Australian Open is off to a strong start after a superb Adelaide International campaign.

Things could be about to get a bit harder for the 2021 Wimbledon champion, though, as she faced only one top-10 player in Adelaide but could meet as many as three as she pursues glory at the Sydney Tennis Classic.

The classic, which starts on Monday, is the last stop for Barty before the Australian Open with the 25-yearold’s rivals out to make sure she doesn’t enter the first grand slam tournament of the year on a high.

World No.3 Garbine Muguruza – the second-highest ranked player in the women’s tournament – has defeated Barty once before and wouldn’t shy away from the challenge of facing her again.

“She’s maintaining her level in a very good way,” Muguruza said. “She’s a very talented player. It’s always difficult to face her.

“She’s always a tough opponent and I’ll be looking forward to facing her, because that means that we are in a deep round of the tournament.”

Muguruza lost in the final of the 2020 Australian Open and was knocked out last year by the eventual winner, Naomi Osaka.

“It gives you the certainty that you can play well here,” she said. “I felt a lot of support from the crowd. Hopefully I can win one day.”

World No.5 Barbora Krejcikova has been tracking Barty’s progress with a keen eye this summer.

“She’s a really good player,” Krejcikova said. “I’ve been watching her last week in Adelaide. She’s been playing amazing tennis.

“I hope that we’re going to have a big chance to beat her, at least one of us.”