- Ashleigh Barty became the first Australian in 44 years to win the Grand Slam in Melbourne.
- In the final she defeated Danielle Collins 6:3, 7:6 (7:2).
- In the second set, the 25-year-old makes up for a deficit of 2 breaks.
1: 5 from Ashleigh Barty’s point of view it was already in the 2nd set of the final at the Australian Open. Her opponent Danielle Collins served with a lead of 2 breaks to equalize the set 1:1. But nothing came of it: at the first chance for a rebreak, the Australian forced a backhand error from Collins. Collins’ second attempt to serve the set home also failed because her backhand flew into the net again.
So the momentum was on Barty’s side. She used this impressively in the tie-break: the Australian threw in 3 forehand winners, the last one secured her the tournament win. It is the first success of an Australian tennis player at the Australian Open since 1978. At that time, Christine O’Neil, who supported Barty as a spectator this year, triumphed.
Barty’s forehand is the key to success
As is so often the case, mental aspects were decisive in the first set: while Barty was able to fend off a breakball against himself with a precise forehand winner when the score was 2: 2, Collins ultimately “gifted” her opponent the service breakthrough with a double fault. Barty had also won the breakball with a forehand win. As is well known, this blow should also secure her tournament victory in the end.
Barty, who entered the tournament as world number 1 as the top favorite, is celebrating her third Grand Slam title. She had previously enjoyed success at the 2019 Fench Open and at Wimbledon last year. For her part, Collins will advance into the top 10 in the world rankings thanks to reaching the final of a Grand Slam for the first time.