Aussie legend saw potential in Barty

BRISBANE, Australia – Evonne Goolagong Cawley stayed up well past her usual bedtime on Saturday night. Not that she minded being tired when she woke up all-too-early on Sunday morning: Her friend and protege Ash Barty was the new Wimbledon champion.

Barty completed a 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 6-3 win over Karolina Pliskova in the women’s singles final at the All England Club on Saturday. It was just past 1 a.m. Sunday on Australia’s east coast when the match ended and Goolagong Cawley and her husband, Roger Cawley, may have woken up the neighbors with their noisy reaction at their home on the Sunshine Coast, north of Brisbane.

“It was very emotional for me to be watching Ash,” Goolagong Cawley said. “I’m so proud of her and the way she handles herself on and off the court. She’s like a little sister to me, so it seems like a family win today.”

Goolagong won Wimbledon twice, in 1971 and in 1980. Until Barty’s victory, that had been the last time an Australian woman won a Wimbledon singles title.

Barty’s wins and her career have been intertwined with Goolagong Cawley because of their Indigenious heritage – Goolagong Cawley is a Wiradjuri and Barty a Ngaragu. They’ve known each other since Barty was 15.

“Evonne is a very special person in my life,” said Barty, whose outfit was a tribute to the dress Goolagong Cawley wore when she won Wimbledon in ’71. “I think she has been iconic in paving a way for young Indigenous youth to believe in their dreams and to chase their dreams. She’s done exactly that for me as well.”

Mixed doubles: Desirae Krawczyk of the USA won a second straight Grand Slam title by beating her usual partner in the Wimbledon final Sunday. Krawczyk and Neal Skupski of Britain beat all-British duo Joe Salisbury and Harriet Dart 6-2, 7-6 (7-1). Krawczyk and Salisbury teamed up to win the French Open last month.

“I never imagined I would win back-to-back Grand Slam titles,” said Krawczyk, 27. “It’s incredible.”

Krawczyk and Skupski never faced a break point and converted two of the seven they created.