The Australian wins her “home tournament” for the first time, ending a decade-long drought. In the final against Danielle Collins, Barty starts strong – and then has to fight her way back later on.
What a win, what emotion, what a historic moment! Ashleigh Barty has won the 2022 Australian Open – the first time in 44 years that an Australian tennis player has won the Grand Slam tournament in Melbourne. The 25-year-old won a hard-fought final 6-3, 7-6 (7-2) against surprise US finalist Danielle Collins.
Barty won her third Grand Slam title after the French Open 2019 and Wimbledon last year. The world number one from Queensland extended her unblemished record in her third major final. In all, she celebrated her 15th professional title, which comes sweetened with prize money of around €1.8 million.
Barty countered cleverly against Collins’ power
Barty is the first Australian winner at her home Grand Slam since 1978 when Christine O’Neil won the title. Back then, the Australian Open was held on grass at the Kooyong Tennis Club in Melbourne. In the men’s singles, the last Australian triumph to date dates back to 1976 (Mark Edmondson).
In front of almost 12,000 fans at Rod Laver Arena, who cheered loudly for their hugely popular “Ash”, Barty was always nervous after her brilliant run through the tournament. She lost only 21 games on her way to the final and dropped only one service game.
Collins had the first break point of the match. But Barty fended it off with nerves of steel and then took the serve from her opponent. She countered Collins’ power with cleverness and variability. Even after losing the first set, the world number 30 didn’t let up and, helped by Barty’s simple errors, even took a 5-1 lead and served to win the set – but then Barty turned up the heat and, with the frenetic crowd behind her, was unstoppable.
113 weeks at number one
From the first day of the tournament, Barty had been the big favourite, with an entire nation expecting her to win the title – a pressure she had not always withstood in her career. After the US Open in 2014, burnt out, she took time out, played professional cricket at home and thus found the fun in the sport again.
In 2020, as at the end of last season, Barty also took extended breaks to spend more time with her family during the Corona pandemic. Barty draws a lot of strength from these breaks, and on Monday she will enter her 113th week as world ranking leader – only six players have managed more.
Collins, on the other hand, missed out on her first major title in her first major final. But her strong showing in Melbourne is already the biggest success of her career – because the 28-year-old has had to battle two chronic illnesses in recent years.
First, she had to get rheumatoid arthritis under control, and last year she was diagnosed with endometriosis. Only an operation last April provided relief after a long period of suffering with exceptionally severe period pains. Despite the defeat, she will enter the top 10 rankings for the first time as of Monday and be ranked as the best US woman.
Set 2:
6:3, 7:6 (7:2): Collins misses a forehand cross and there are four match points for Ash Barty at 6:2 – and she takes the first! Ashleigh Barty wins the Australian Open.
6:3, 6:6 (5:1): Collins needs a miracle. It’s 5:1 for Barty, she only needs two more points to win the title. Now the sides are switched.
6:3, 6:6 (4:0): Barty quickly takes a 4:0 lead in this tie-break. Collins is struggling. She is under a lot of pressure. The crowd goes wild.
6:3, 6:6: Barty is only shaken for a moment, at 15:30 she wins three points in a row and secures the service game. Tie-break! It can happen very quickly now!
6:3, 5:6: This will be good for Collins. She wins another game with a service winner – and at least secures the tie-break in the second set. But maybe there’s even more to come here…
6:3, 5:5: Unbelievable, it is now really 5:5 because Danielle Collins loses four (!) games in a row. All in a row. Is this set now probably completely overturned? The crowd is going wild and wants to see local heroine Barty take the second set.
6:3, 4:5: Collins is shaking! Despite 30:0, the score is now 30:40 and she complains to the chair umpire because the crowd is calling into the rallies. The fans boo – but can cheer shortly afterwards, because the US-American misses a backhand into the net and loses her second service game in a row! What a comeback from Ash Barty.
6:3, 3:5: Barty does her duty and reduces the score to 3:5, but she still needs a break to avoid losing the second set. Will Collins remain stable and bring the set home? She also changes her racket now.
6:3, 2:5: Ash Barty gets the chance to come back in this second set, has break point at 30:40 from Collins’ point of view – and takes it. But she is still a break behind and is struggling. A change of racket should fix things, and there are also new balls.
6:3, 1:5: Barty is knocked out, uncertain – and making mistakes. At 15:40 she plays a backhand slice weakly into the net and loses her second service game of the match. Collins now serves to even the set.
6:3, 1:4: Collins is at her best, keeps pushing and silences the crowd. The US-American serves a strong 80 percent of her first serve and extends her lead. Neutral spectators can look forward to a third set, unless Barty makes a comeback…
6:3, 1:3: Now Ash Barty has arrived in this second set, too, finishing her first service game after only 62 seconds with a backhand longline to zero.
6:3, 0:3: The 2:0 lead should give the US player some confidence. Can Collins confirm her break? She can, but she has to fight and has two break points against her. In one of the longest rallies of the match, Collins breaks free and closes out the match shortly afterwards. Very important for the upcoming top-10 player.
6:3, 0:2: Collins has to attack now, and she manages to make Barty think, because Barty makes two forehand errors and gives the US-American two break points. Barty fends off the first with an ace through the middle, but Collins immediately attacks the second and puts the Australian in trouble. Collins takes the point and wins the break!
6:3, 0:1: The second set is on. Collins is now allowed to take the lead, which could be a small advantage as she is not under so much pressure on her own serve. She masters her first game with flying colours and takes the lead in the second set for the first time in this match.
6:3: Is Barty wobbling here? Not at all! The two-time Grand Slam winner is playing very casually, sometimes she throws in a slice, then she picks up the pace again and frees herself from complicated situations. Set point at 40:0 – and Barty takes it with her 5th ace in this party! Set lead for the favourite, although Collins was not much worse. It’s the nuances, ladies and gentlemen. The crowd goes wild, Barty party in Melbourne.
5:3: Collins is now under a lot of pressure and is fighting against the loss of the set. You can tell the world number 30 is not as relaxed as she was at the start of the match. But at 30:30 Barty plays a forehand into the net. Collins takes her game, but now the world number one can close out the set.
5:2: It was a brutally close match, but now the first set could be over. Barty makes three quick points, commits her first double fault, but serves so variably that she has a commanding 5:2 lead. Collins missed her break point and Barty immediately took advantage of it: sometimes joy and sorrow are that close together.
4:2: Now it gets dicey for Collins for the first time, who gets too defensive. Collins has to defend her first break point at 30:40 – and she doesn’t manage it. The US-American completely misses her second serve and produces her first double fault – and loses the match! Break for the top favourite from Australia.
3:2: Those who expected close service games have been disappointed so far. But now it’s deuce for the first time. Barty misses a forehand and gives Collins the first break point of the match, which Barty sensationally fends off. Two more points and an ace later it’s 3:2 and the Australian, who has only lost one service game in this tournament, can breathe a sigh of relief.
2:2: And Collins, too, easily gets through her second service game despite a 0:15 start, and at 40:15 she is also a bit lucky with the edge of the net. Both are up to something here and seem to have a lot of confidence.
2:1: The arm is loose, Barty has no problems with her serve, has already hit three aces and wins her second service game easily. Everything in line so far.
1:1: Collins is also serving well and getting into the game. At 40:15 the US-American plays a strong serve to the outside and equalises.
1:0: The world number one starts well, serves variably and quickly leads 40:0. Collins scores two more points, but Barty keeps her cool and takes the first game.
0:0: And the match is on, Barty serves first.
9:43: Both are now playing their way in. Three minutes to go here. Barty’s impressive record in this tournament: She only gave up 21 games. But: So far, no opponent of hers has been in the top 30. Collins is now such an opponent, she started the Australian Open as number 30 in the world ranking.
9.37 am: The players have left the catacombs and entered the court. Ash Barty, of course, to thunderous applause from the large crowd.
9.30 a.m.: The players are about to enter the Rod Laver Arena. It’s about to start in Melbourne.
9.20 a.m.: Before the final, activists have made a sign of support for Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai. On the day of the women’s final, they said they had 1,000 T-shirts with the words “Where is Peng Shuai?” on them, which they handed out to spectators outside the entrances. The organisers of the Grand Slam tournament in Melbourne had initially banned political messages on the site, but allowed the T-shirts after criticism.
9.15 a.m.: Will the US woman score the coup? “There have been so many women in the last few years who weren’t expected to win Grand Slams and that gives hope to all the other players,” Collins said ahead of the event.
But Barty wants to make the most of her opportunity in front of her home crowd. “A lot of Australian players dream of being in the final of their home Grand Slam. I love this tournament. I’m just happy that I can play my best tennis here.”
9.10 a.m.: In the direct comparison, in terms of playing time, it quickly becomes clear: Collins was on court four and a half hours longer, had more to fight for. The direct comparison is also in Ashleigh Barty’s favour: the local hero has won three of the four duels so far. However, Collins won the last match at the beginning of the 2021 season in Adelaide.
