Melbourne – In a short red summer dress, Ashleigh Barty splashes bubbly. She laughs exuberantly after living up to all the expectations and giving Australia a historic sporting moment.
Happy, the first home Australian Open winner in 44 years squats on the green grass in one of Melbourne’s beautiful parks. She holds the shiny handles of the “Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup” in both hands.
“A champion of the people “
“Let the barty party begin, everyone’s invited,” wrote the Sunday Age newspaper after the 25-year-old from Queensland State’s strong 6-3, 7-6 (7-2) win over surprise American finalist Danielle Collins in the final. “A people’s champion,” the paper headlined the first Australian men’s and women’s success since Chris O’Neil crowned herself the winner in 1978.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison congratulated “Our Queen of our Court” on her “pure class” and said, “Australia thanks you and your team. How good!” The tournament, which had nothing to do with the usual “happy slam” because of the theatre surrounding the forced departure of top Serbian star Novak Djokovic before the opener, ended with a tennis feast for the hosts, with fan favourites Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis also contributing with their coup in the Australian doubles final.
Despite all the expectations, Barty was not in tears when she capped her two fantastic Melbourne weeks with a brilliant forehand passing shot on her first match point. The whole release of tension erupted in a loud scream from the usually often soberly jubilant world number one. “It was a bit surreal,” Barty said. “I didn’t really know what to do or feel,” she said, “This is just a dream of mine coming true. I’m so proud to be an Aussie.”
Barty withstands pressure in final
Barty was already popular in Australia because she is approachable, humble, down to earth. Her popularity is now likely to grow. It was no sensation that played out on Saturday night in the Rod Laver Arena, which was packed despite ticket restrictions. For the third year in a row, Barty had finished the year as the world number one tennis player. She was the top seed and her opponent, 28-year-old Collins, a Grand Slam final debutant.
The feat was to withstand the pressure at her home Grand Slam. Andy Murray had also experienced how hard that can be until he quenched the British craving for a Wimbledon win in 2013. Down Under, no Australian has won the men’s event since Mark Edmondson in 1976. Lleyton Hewitt reached the final in 2005.
“A really, really special moment. To be a small part of incredible tennis history as an Australian is really, really nice,” said Barty, the first home finalist since 1980. “You Barty legend,” wrote the Herald Sun.
Barty had received the trophy from the hands of her great role model Evonne Goolagong Cawley. Australian sports celebrities like tennis icon Rod Laver and Cathy Freeman, Olympic 400-metre champion in Sydney in 2000, did not want to miss the moment. The first to hug Barty and kiss her on the forehead was her good friend Casey Dellacqua. Her old doubles partner once brought her back to tennis. By 2014, it had all become too much for her and she briefly fled to cricket. It wasn’t until 2016 that she returned to tennis – a right decision, as this triumph also showed.
Now all that’s missing is the US Open title
Women’s tennis has a worthy number one. Barty backed that up with her third Grand Slam title after the 2019 French Open and Wimbledon last year. Admittedly, she did not play her best tennis on this final day. In the style of a champion, she kept her cool, no matter how excited the spectators, many of them wearing T-shirts with her name, were. Barty even overcame a 1:5 in the second set. She swept through the tournament without losing a set.
Barty is only missing the US Open for her personal Grand Slam quartet, for which her coach Craig Tyzzer is sceptical because of the easy balls. Besides Serena Williams, she is the only active player to have won Grand Slam tournaments on all three different surfaces. Serena Williams, who was not physically fit enough to participate, and her chase for her 24th title were not an issue in Melbourne. The attention belonged to Barty. “Nobody deserves it more,” conveyed Angelique Kerber, who triumphed in Australia in 2016.