BARTY ENDS AUSTRALIAN DROUGHT
ASHLEIGH Barty roared into the Melbourne night after exorcising 44 years of Australian pain.
By beating American Danielle Collins 6-3 7-6 (2), Barty finally ended the long reign of Chris O’Neil as the last home Australian Open singles champion back in 1978.
The great and the good had gathered in Rod Laver Arena, with the man after whom the stadium is named joined by Hollywood superstar Russell Crowe, and Sydney Olympic heroes Ian Thorpe and Cathy Freeman.
Barty is usually understated on and off the court but, when her final forehand flew past Collins to cap a comeback from 5-1 down in the second set, she let all her emotions out.
“It was a little bit surreal,” she said afterwards. “I think I didn’t quite know what to do or what to feel, and I think just being able to let out a little bit of emotion, which is a little bit unusual for me, and I think being able to celebrate with everyone who was there in the crowd, the energy was incredible tonight.
“I think being able to understand how much work my team and I have done behind the scenes and over the last few years to get to this point, to be able to have this opportunity was really special. I think it just kind of all came out at once.”
Barty took her grand slam tally to three having won the French Open in 2019 and Wimbledon last summer and becomes the only active female player other than Serena Williams to have won major titles on three different surfaces.
The 25-year-old, who toasted her win with a beer on Australian TV, has always shrugged off talk of the expectation on her shoulders.
She said: “I think the expectation was that I would always come out and give my best, and that’s all I’ve ever done.
“I have been close before, but I think now that we’ve been able to achieve this, I think you guys don’t need to talk about it any more.”
Meanwhile, Nick Kyrgios won his first grand slam title with close friend Thanasi Kokkinakis in the men’s double’s.
Kyrgios and Kokkinakis have enjoyed a brilliant run at Melbourne Park, and it culminated in a 7-5 6-4 victory over fellow Australians Matt Ebden and Max Purcell.