Australia

Australia’s Ash Barty wins Wimbledon in tense final with Karolína Plíšková



The childhood dream has come true for Australia’s Ash Barty, who claimed her maiden Wimbledon ladies’ singles title with a 6-3, 6-7 (7/4), 6-3 victory over eighth-seeded Czech Karolína Plíšková.

The 25-year-old Australian world number one became the first Australian woman to lift the Venus Rosewater dish since fellow Indigenous tennis star Evonne Goolagong Cawley in 1980.

The victory also ends a 19-year singles drought for Australia at The Championships, Barty’s title the first since Lleyton Hewitt dismantled Argentina’s David Nalbandian in the 2002 men’s singles final.

For Barty, her second grand slam title arrived a little over two years since her first, when she triumphed at the French Open.

And while she won that final in a romp, this one was not so easy despite how it started out.

Barty raced to a lead unlike many seen in a grand slam final as she took the first 14 points over a clearly tense Plíšková.

The Czech, despite a wealth of big match experience, could barely seem to lift her arm to serve, almost as if she was paralysed with fear, and her usually free-swinging groundstrokes were anything but, her arms stiff and her shots lacking pace as Barty raced to a 4-0 lead.

It was one she would not give up, despite giving back one break to Plíšková, who was starting to find her range, but Barty held on to take the set 6-3.

If that was a great omen, so was the fact that no women’s player had come from a set down to win a final at The All England Club since Amelie Mauresmo did so in 2006.

When Barty broke Plíšková again, this time to love to take a 2-1 lead in the second set, it seemed that the Barty Party was getting set to really kick off.

Plíšková though, would not go away.

She hit Barty with a dose of her own medicine to break to love and level the second set at 3 games all.

While the serve of both players had been anything but dominant till that stage, it suddenly was and Plíšková had a 40-0 lead while serving to go up 6-5.

A second set tie-break was looking likely until Barty rattled off five straight points and broke to serve for the match.

She got tight though and unforced errors flowed as Plíšková sent the second set into a tie-break she would win 7-4 with two net cords gifting her two points.

The momentum of the match had shifted yet again and heading into the third set it seemed Plíšková might end Barty’s hopes of following in her hero Cawley’s footsteps.

But Aussie Ash was not to be denied and started the set by holding serve then breaking Plíšková with ease — before long it was 3-0 Barty.

Service holds were then traded and twice the Australian got within two points of the match before Plíšková held to make it 5-2 to the Aussie.

Serving it out again proved difficult as Plíšková got a break back point but she pushed a backhand wide before Barty steeled herself and served her way to her first Wimbledon title.

More to come.



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