Barty takes another ‘stepping stone’ to fulfilling Wimbledon dream
World number one Ashleigh Barty reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the first time on Monday beating French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic 7-5, 6-3.
The 25-year-old Australian will play the winner of the match between unseeded compatriot Ajla Tomljanovic and British teenager Emma Raducanu on Tuesday for a place in the semi-finals.
“In a sense of being in the quarters, I’m happy,” said Barty. “I’m excited. It’s another stepping-stone for me. It’s another first, I suppose.
“It’s kind of going to be a new situation, a new scenario, one that I’m going to look forward to.
“I’m going to enjoy it no matter what. I think it’s a stepping stone to what is kind of one of my biggest dreams. We just keep chipping away.”
Defeat brought an end to Krejcikova’s 15-match winning streak and she will have to wait another year to see if she can emulate her late coach and mentor Jana Novotna in winning the title.
Barty may have won in straight sets but that did not really tell the full tale of a hard fought 95-minute encounter against an opponent who had yet to win a main draw singles grass match prior to Wimbledon.
Barty’s serve was once again her Achilles heel being broken early in the first set and then again in the second when she served for the match.
Fortunately for the Aussie supporters on Court Number One -- one of whom was holding a hand written card ‘It’s Barty’s Party’ -- she broke Krejcikova’s serve to take the match.