Hope for Ash return

Dokic dares to dream

A FORMER Australian tennis star says she is hopeful Ash Barty will one day return to professional tennis.

Former top 10 women’s singles player and commentator Jelena Dokic said she would love to see the reigning Australian Open champ back playing as Barty set foot on Margaret Court Arena on Wednesday morning for a hit with young Indigenous players.

Barty, who is pregnant with her first child, entertained kids with an array of impressive shots as she joined fellow Indigenous tennis legend Evonne Goolagong to launch the Australian Open’s second annual First Nations Day.

Dokic said Barty and Goolagong’s involvement with the initiative was “phenomenal”.

“To have Ash Barty and Evonne Goolagong Cawley here, it doesn’t get much better than that,” she said.

When asked if a Barty return could be on the cards following the birth of her child, Dokic said: “Look, we can dream. It would be great to see her back.”

Despite Barty’s retirement and a spate of withdrawals leaving the women’s draw with only one former Australian Open champion remaining in the tournament’s second round (2012 and 2013 winner Victoria Azarenka), the reigning champion said there was more depth in the competition than many perceived.

“In the women’s draw, there’s so much depth spread across the board and you have to have quality over the whole calendar to be a top player,” Barty said.

But she said world No.1 Iga Swiatek had been a class above competitors for the bulk of 2022.

“I think Iga (Swiatek) has obviously shown she was probably that level above most for most of last year, but there are certainly some very good players in there that may not have had slam success in terms of winning it but have made quarters and semis,” she said.

“I think it will come down to whoever can handle the occasion best, trust themselves and play their best tennis.”

Barty, who said she was enjoying taking in the tournament as a spectator rather than as a player, was full of praise for Australians Olivia Gadecki and Kimberly Birrell following their first-round wins on Tuesday.

“I speak to Liv (Gadecki) quite often, she’s obviously in a really good place and she was excited to get out there for her first major and she handled herself exceptionally well,” Barty said. “There’s plenty of firsts for Liv and it’s nice to see Kimbo (Birrell) fight through and scrap yesterday and find a way to break down one of the best players over a long time.”