ASH’S WIN COULD SPARK A MAJOR RUN IN 2018
ASHLEIGH Barty hopes to go on a pre-Grand Slam roll after posting her first win of the summer in a boost to her Australian Open prospects.
Barty’s hard-earned 6-3, 6-4 victory over Paraguayan qualifier Veronica Cepede Royg yesterday at the Sydney International followed a scratchy first-round loss last week in Brisbane.
After a strong 2017, in which she soared more than 250 spots in the rankings, Barty badly needed a win to kickstart the new year after misfiring in a straight-sets defeat to Lesia Tsurenko in her hometown season opener in Brisbane.
That defeat has likely cost her a vital top-16 seeding at Melbourne Park, and another loss yesterday would hardly have filled her with confidence.
Instead, the world No.19 next faces Sydney wildcard Ellen Perez, ensuring at least one Australian in the quarter-finals and guaranteeing Barty all-important match practice.
“Today was a little bit better than last week and hopefully we can get a little bit better with the next match and hopefully have a few more here before we go to Melbourne,” Barty said.
Being Australian No.1 heading into the Open is a new experience for Barty, but one the 21-year-old is embracing.
“It’s pretty special coming in as Aussie No.1, but it certainly doesn’t add any external pressure – only pressure I put on myself,” she said.
After taking the first set comfortably at Olympic Park’s Ken Rosewall Arena, Barty was forced to pull out all stops in the second as Cepede Royg threatened to extend the contest.