From the ashes: Barty ends 44-year drought
Ash Barty recovered from 5-1 down in the second set to win the Australian Open final 6-3, 7-6 (2) over Danielle Collins last night, ending a 44-year drought for Australian women at their home Grand Slam tournament.
The top-ranked Barty won the first set with one service break against the 27th-seeded Collins.
But the 28-year-old American hit back quickly, breaking Barty’s serve in the second and sixth games to take a 5-1 lead.
Barty had dropped only one service game through six previous rounds in the tournament.
Momentum was with Collins and she twice served for the set, aiming to take her first Grand Slam final to a third set.
But Barty launched a comeback, winning five of the next six games and then dominated the tiebreaker.
Barty was the first Australian woman into the singles final of the Australian Open since Wendy Turnbull in 1980 and is now the first Australian champion since Chris O’Neil in 1978.
After shaking hands with Collins, Barty hugged close friend Casey Dellacqua, who was sitting courtside. Dellacqua, Barty’s former doubles partner and mentor, supported Barty as she made her return to professional tennis.
Barty then raced to celebrate with coach Craig Tyzzer, partner Gary Kissick and her family.
She had another emotional moment during the trophy presentation when it was announced Australian legend Evonne Goolagong-Cawley had made a surprise dash to Melbourne to present the trophy to
Barty. Goolagong-Cawley is Barty’s idol and the world No 1 admitted she had no idea she would be presenting the trophy.
“Wow. I have said numerous times that I am so lucky to have so many people here that love me, support me,” Barty said after being presented with the trophy.
“Pretty bloody special that mum and dad and my sisters are here and I’m so happy they could be here.
“I am an incredibly fortunate and lucky girl to have so much love in my corner. And that comes when we started together right from the start in the second part of our career.”
The 25-year-old Barty now has major titles on three surfaces, adding the hard court at Melbourne Park to her win on grass at Wimbledon last year and on clay at the French Open in 2019.
While most of the focus tonight in Melbourne will be on Rafael Nadal’s quest for glory, Daniil Medvedev is chasing a piece of history of his own.
The pair will clash in the men’s singles final at the Australian Open, with Nadal within one victory of a men’s record 21st Grand Slam singles title, while Medvedev, the 2021 US Open champion, is aiming to be the first man in the Open era to win his second Grand Slam title at the next major tournament.
Medvedev overcame Stefanos Tsitsipas in their semifinal, winning 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 in a feisty foursetter that revealed the froideur between bitter rivals.
The main flashpoint developed late in the second set, after Medvedev had dropped serve for the second time, and made what umpire Jaume Campistol thought was an “up yours” gesture with his left arm in response.
Campistol handed him a code violation for “visible obscenity”, whereupon Medvedev went off like a Roman candle.
“Bro, are you mad?” he asked. “For what? And his father can talk every point?” Medvedev then repeated this last sentence four more times, yelling louder and louder.
Eventually he changed the stuck record and continued: “Answer my question. Oh my God, you are so bad, man. How can you be so bad in the semifinal of a Grand Slam? Look at me, I am talking to you. Give him [a] coaching [violation] because his father is talking every point.”
The issue was not finished there, as a clearly agitated Medvedev promptly lost the second set and then did his best to impugn Campistol’s masculinity.
“If you don’t [give him a coaching warning],” Medvedev barked, “you are — how can I say it — a small cat.”
The two players — who had to be physically separated at the end of a bad-tempered match in Miami four years ago — shared a frosty, no-look handshake at the end of Medvedev’s victory.
Medvedev — who apologised to Campistol as he left the court — later said he had done well to recover composure after his outburst.
“You lose your concentration a lot when you get in this heat-of-themoment things,” he said. “And, yeah, the next game, [I was] 15-40, started terrible, I was like, ‘Oh, my God, I’m just completely losing the fibre of this match’. I’m so happy that I managed to catch it really fast.”
Asked if he regrets his tendency to abuse umpires, Medvedev said: “I regret it all the time, because I don’t think it’s nice. I know that every referee is trying to do their best.”