Barty sends message to Australian Open foes

WORLD No.1 Ashleigh Barty underlined her Australian Open credentials by claiming victory at the Adelaide International 1 warm-up event.

The Wimbledon champion eased past seventh seed Elena Rybakina 6-3, 6-2, yesterday to wrap up her 14th WTA singles title in just 64 minutes.

Australian Barty is favourite to triumph on home soil when the first Grand Slam of 2022 begins in Melbourne a week today.

“I feel good leading up to an Australian Open, like I have every year,” said Barty. “Each and every preparation is unique, each and every preparation is different, so we take it for what comes and what it is, move on, try and do the best that we can in every opportunity, whether that’s here in Adelaide or it’s in Melbourne.

“It has absolutely no effect on the way that I prepare or the way I’m thinking leading forward just because it’s a Grand Slam.”

Elsewhere, there were titles for two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep and America’s Amanda Anisimova.

Former French Open and Wimbledon winner Halep defeated Veronika Kudermetova 6-2, 6-3, in the final of the Melbourne Summer Set 1.

The 30-year-old endured an injury-disrupted 2021, completing only nine of 13 tournaments amid calf and knee issues and dipping out of the top 20 for the first time since 2013.

“The body is great, I feel good,” said 2018 Australian Open finalist Halep. “I had a tough five matches, and my body is good. I don’t feel that tired. Physically I’m in the right place.”

Earlier, 20-year-old Anisimova became the first WTA singles champion of the year after overcoming Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the Melbourne Summer Set 2 final.