Ash Barty has become the first local woman to win an Australian Open singles title in 44 years, grinding out a hard-fought 6-3 7-6 (7-2) victory over American Danielle Collins in front of an adoring Rod Laver Arena crowd.
Not since 1978 champion Chris O’Neil, who was in the crowd for Barty’s Melbourne Park triumph, had an Australian woman conquered the grand slam, but the laidback Queenslander found a way through her tenacious opponent to break the drought.
Barty was down a double break in the second set but clawed her way back to force a tiebreak, which she blitzed in emphatic fashion as Melbourne Park erupted.
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“Her destiny is fulfilled,” said Sam Smith on Nine’s Wide World of Sports as Barty wrapped up victory.
The winning moment triggered an outpouring of emotion that Barty had bottled up over two weeks and six matches, as a lion-hearted roar reverberated through the arena.
Fittingly, the first person Barty embraced after the breakthrough moment was former doubles partner and dear friend Casey Dellacqua, sitting courtside in commentary for Nine.
And in a moment that must have sent tingles down millions of spines, Australian tennis legend and beloved friend Evonne Goolagong Cawley made a surprise arrival to present Barty the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup.
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Tested by a giant weight of pressure after winning Wimbledon in 2021 and cruising through to the Australian Open final without dropping a set, Barty may have revealed the slightest of cracks when she faced the first break point of the match at 2-2 in the opener.
But the 25-year-old saved the break point with a sharply angled forehand and broke Collins’ serve shortly after, taking a 4-2 lead.
The top seed then faced another challenge from Collins when the 27th seed had a break of serve to go 2-0 in the second set.
The 28-year-old sealed the break point when she thumped a high ball into the court and celebrated with ferocity, dropping to her haunches as she pumped her firsts and let out a mighty roar.
“She is a fighter,” Jim Courier said.
Collins, her bag courtside reading ‘Danimal’, continued to rise as underdog when she again broke serve to take a 5-1 second-set lead.
But a defiant Barty stormed back into the set, accounting for the double break as she closed the deficit to 5-4.
‘I’m so lucky’
The crowd went delirious when Barty consolidated her second break in succession to level the set at 5-5 – and shortly after she was tearing through her first tiebreaker of the tournament in blistering style.
The great riddle that is pressure in sport appeared to be making Barty wobble as Collins threatened to become the first player of the tournament to steal a set off the local hero, but Barty again stamped herself as a master of her craft as she regathered and closed out victory.
The girl from Ipswich, who had ditched tennis for cricket in 2014 and returned for one more shake in 2016, now has three grand slam singles crowns and is an Australian Open champion.
“Unreal,” she said as she soaked up glory.
“Incredible.”
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