THE BARTY CRASHER
UKRAINIAN QUALIFIER TSURENKO DANGEROUS OPPONENT FOR ASH
A QUALIFIER in the first round for the No.1 seed would normally barely rate a ripple. But for Ash Barty, her opening match-up with Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko on Monday night brings with it some history.
Back in 2018, a red-hot Tsurenko, then ranked No.42, took down Barty at the Brisbane International.
Two years later, the pair again faced off, this time in the opening round of the Australian Open where again the Ukrainian proved to be a handful.
Tsurenko claimed the first set 7-5 before Barty found her rhythm to close out the final two sets, 6-1 6-1.
While the Australian holds a 2-1 head-to-head advantage – and obviously their careers have gone in different directions since Brisbane – the match-up will have had red flags for the Barty camp.
Tsurenko, a quarter-finalist at the 2018 US Open, reached her careerhigh ranking of No.23 in 2019.
She has since slipped to 120th but the 32-year-old was dominant through qualifying last week, not dropping a set on her way into the main draw.
While all the focus around the draw was the possible fourth-round match-up with defending champion Naomi Osaka, Barty has some challenges with Tsurenko and then possibly 30th seed Camila Giorgi in the third round.
For Barty, none of this really impacts given the way she has changed her approach to tennis, focusing on enjoyment and being the best version of herself rather than what her opponent’s forehand does. This philosophy has seen her crowned world No.1 for the third year running.
“There is certainly a regimen and a routine that we follow, but in saying that we also have fun, that’s one of the most important things in the way we’ve gone about it in the past couple of years – to enjoy ourselves and not take life too seriously,” Barty said. “Be really present in the moment and enjoy it for what it is.”
Barty suffered a shock loss to Karolina Muchova in last year’s quarter-finals after claiming the opening set 6-1 and being a break up in the second set before a controversial medical time-out by the Czech changed the course of the match.
Her best effort at Melbourne Park was in 2020 when she lost to eventual champion Sofia Kenin in the semi-final. The last Australian to make the final at the hometown Slam was Lleyton Hewitt in 2005.
“I can’t do any more than I can try,” Barty said. “That’s all I can do. If it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen.
“I just have to hope everyone understands I’m giving it my best crack. It doesn’t always work out exactly how you want to. But you go about it the right way, you do the right things and try to give yourself the best chance, that’s all you can do.”
Barty is well aware of the challenge awaiting her.
“It’s always a tough one against a qualifier, particularly someone who has been so successful in the past,” Barty said. “She obviously knows how to win big matches and how to play in the big moments. Having played ‘qualies’ over the past week with two or three matches, she’s used to the conditions. For me, it’s about still going out there and trying to play my brand of tennis.”
Australia’s other main hope in the women’s draw, Ajla Tomljanovic, faces a tough start against No.8 seed Paula Badosa.