Ashleigh Barty, Australias newest grand slam champion, will set her sights on replicating her dream run to the French Open title when she arrives later this month at Wimbledon, where the great Rod Laver predicts she will be “a tough lady to beat”.
Having sealed a maiden major with a clinical 6-1, 6-3 victory over Marketa Vondrousova on Saturday, Barty will head towards the All England Club as the new world No.2 and the third favourite to win the womens singles in London.
Bold prediction: Rod Laver was full of praise for Ash Barty.Credit:AP
Eight years after the Queenslander took out the junior girls singles as a 15-year-old at Wimbledon, only multiple winners Serena Williams and Petra Kvitova are more fancied by bookmakers. Even world No.1 and reigning US Open and Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka is listed behind Barty on a surface she enjoys more than the red clay on which she triumphed in Paris.
There are some other big girls out there that are big servers and have good ground strokes but Ash is tenacious, has a good drop shot, good angles, good anticipation. I really think shell be a tough lady to beat, said Laver, who was at Roland Garros to see Bartys breakthrough grand slam success.
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It has been our first [title] on clay since 1973, he said. “That is pretty good to come back out and have a year away from tennis and get back in there and start playing.
You could see her concentration has been much better. Sometimes before, when she missed something she would have a hang-dog look about her if she missed a forehand. She would drop away and maybe think, This game is too tough to play. But now everything she hits is perfect.
The significance of Bartys success at the French Open was enhanced by the unlikelihood of it. It is only three years since she returned to the game, having quit tennis in 2014 and had a stint in cricket.
And while she was seen as a contender for a grand slam title this year after charging up the rankings and winning what was until now the biggest title of her career in Miami in March, it was presumed she may be in the hunt at Wimbledon not at Roland Garros.
For the last fortnight, the stars have aligned for me, Barty said. I have been able to play really good tennis when Ive needed it. I never dreamt that Id be sitting here with this trophy here at the French Open. I mean, obviously we have dreams and goals as children, but this is incredible.
She has withdrawn from one of the lead-up tournaments to Wimbledon in Nottingham, which she won last year, as she celebrates and relaxes with her support team including long-time coach Craig Tyzzer. She will instead warm up for the third major of the year at events in Birmingham and Eastbourne.
I know Im playing good tennis [but] Wimbledon is a long way away, Barty said. I feel like I need to celebrate this with my team … take a few days off and make sure I get my body and mind right so that when I come out to play my next tournament Im ready to go.
Obviously I love the grasscourt season. Im excited to play over this next month in the UK and hopefully I can bring some really good level of tennis again to potentially give myself a chance to go deep in a major again.As well as becoming the first Australian to claim the French Open title since Margaret Court in 1973, Barty also collecRead More – Source
Ashleigh Barty, Australias newest grand slam champion, will set her sights on replicating her dream run to the French Open title when she arrives later this month at Wimbledon, where the great Rod Laver predicts she will be “a tough lady to beat”.
Having sealed a maiden major with a clinical 6-1, 6-3 victory over Marketa Vondrousova on Saturday, Barty will head towards the All England Club as the new world No.2 and the third favourite to win the womens singles in London.
Bold prediction: Rod Laver was full of praise for Ash Barty.Credit:AP
Eight years after the Queenslander took out the junior girls singles as a 15-year-old at Wimbledon, only multiple winners Serena Williams and Petra Kvitova are more fancied by bookmakers. Even world No.1 and reigning US Open and Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka is listed behind Barty on a surface she enjoys more than the red clay on which she triumphed in Paris.
There are some other big girls out there that are big servers and have good ground strokes but Ash is tenacious, has a good drop shot, good angles, good anticipation. I really think shell be a tough lady to beat, said Laver, who was at Roland Garros to see Bartys breakthrough grand slam success.
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It has been our first [title] on clay since 1973, he said. “That is pretty good to come back out and have a year away from tennis and get back in there and start playing.
You could see her concentration has been much better. Sometimes before, when she missed something she would have a hang-dog look about her if she missed a forehand. She would drop away and maybe think, This game is too tough to play. But now everything she hits is perfect.
The significance of Bartys success at the French Open was enhanced by the unlikelihood of it. It is only three years since she returned to the game, having quit tennis in 2014 and had a stint in cricket.
And while she was seen as a contender for a grand slam title this year after charging up the rankings and winning what was until now the biggest title of her career in Miami in March, it was presumed she may be in the hunt at Wimbledon not at Roland Garros.
For the last fortnight, the stars have aligned for me, Barty said. I have been able to play really good tennis when Ive needed it. I never dreamt that Id be sitting here with this trophy here at the French Open. I mean, obviously we have dreams and goals as children, but this is incredible.
She has withdrawn from one of the lead-up tournaments to Wimbledon in Nottingham, which she won last year, as she celebrates and relaxes with her support team including long-time coach Craig Tyzzer. She will instead warm up for the third major of the year at events in Birmingham and Eastbourne.
I know Im playing good tennis [but] Wimbledon is a long way away, Barty said. I feel like I need to celebrate this with my team … take a few days off and make sure I get my body and mind right so that when I come out to play my next tournament Im ready to go.
Obviously I love the grasscourt season. Im excited to play over this next month in the UK and hopefully I can bring some really good level of tennis again to potentially give myself a chance to go deep in a major again.As well as becoming the first Australian to claim the French Open title since Margaret Court in 1973, Barty also collecRead More – Source
