WEEKEND WINNERS
ASH Taylor celebrates with Tyrone Roberts during yesterday’s second win on the trot for the Gold Coast Titans.
The Titans romped home 38-14 against the Newcastle Knights with Roberts dotting down twice at Cbus Super Stadium.
Up the road in Brisbane, Sam Stosur paired with Ash Barty to win a decisive fifth doubles rubber to beat Belarus and advance to the Fed Cup final.
“AUNTY Ash’’ Barty took down another top-10 tennis rival yesterday to serve notice of her Grand Slam title claims in the three overseas majors this year.
World No.9 Barty walked out on to Pat Rafter Arena for a Fed Cup match carrying her three-year-old niece Lucy in a charming moment.
Barty brushed aside world No.10 Aryna Sabalenka yesterday to take her win-loss record against top-10 players this year to 6-3.
Barty and her beloved relative grinned broadly, while onlookers struggled to come up with a precedent for it in bigtime tennis.
“I asked Lucy if she wanted to do it,’’ Barty said. “She came out during a practice this week and sat there and enjoyed it.
“It was Lucy’s first time at the tennis.
“It was very special for me to have my family here.’’
Lucy sat in the player’s chair briefly while her aunt went out to warm up and was eventually lifted over the hoardings to enjoy the rest of her big day out, which included a seat at the post-match media conference.
Barty, 22, next plays two claycourt tournaments – the first in Madrid from May 4 – before the French Open and admits she is intrigued by how she will make the surface transition from hardcourts with another 12 months of experience and success.
She acknowledged that her six wins last month at the Miami Open, including three over top-10 opponents, was a run transferable to a Grand Slam title trial.
“Why not? It (Miami) was the toughest possible field, but a Grand Slam is a different beast and I still have to take my opportunity,’’ she said.
Sabalenka, who grew increasingly disconsolate as the second set slipped away, did not arrive in Brisbane in the sort of form she was in during late 2018, when she twice beat Barty in matches in China.