Barty is the first woman’s home champion since Christine O’Neil 1978
No. No. 1 Ashleigh Barty beat Danielle Collins in the Australian Open women’s final Saturday in Melbourne, 7-6 (2) to become the first Australian woman to win the women’s singles title since 1978. Barty, 25, won the third Grand Slam title in her career (2021 Wimbledon, 2019 French Open).
Barty beat American Collins in 32 minutes to win the first set. She then battled back from a deficit of 1-5 in the second set to win the tiebreaker. Barty, despite being just 5-5, is an excellent server. She finished the match with 10 aces, compared to Collins’ one ace. And she won 82 percent her first serve points to Collins’ 63percent. Barty won seven out of nine points in the tiebreak and was awarded the championship point with a forehand passing score winner.
Barty stated that this tournament was a “dream come true” and she is proud to be an Aussie in her post-match interview. As an Aussie, sharing this tournament with others is the best part. The crowd today was nothing short of extraordinary. This crowd is the best I have ever had and it brought me joy.
Collins, 28 was a two-time NCAA singles champ while at the University of Virginia. Collins made her professional debut at the 2019 Australian Open, where she reached the semifinals after defeating World No. 2 Angelique Kerber in round 4. Collins defeated 2020 French Open winner Iga Swaitek in the semifinals to reach this year’s title. She will be able to move into the top 10 rankings for women following Saturday’s final, Collins’ maiden Grand Slam semifinal. This marks a career record.
The Final:
Barty (No. 1 seed)
R1: def. Lesia Tsurenko, 6-0, 6-1
R2: def. Lucia Bronzetti, 6-1, 6-1
R3: def. No. 30 Camila Giorgi, 6-2, 6-3
R4: def. Amanda Anisimova, 6-4, 6-3
QF: def. No. 21 Jessica Pegula, 6-2, 6-0
SF: def. Madison Keys, 6-1. 6-3
Collins (No. 27 seed)
R1: def. Caroline Dolehide, 6-1, 6-3
R2: def. Ana Konjuh, 6-4, 6-3
R3: def. Clara Tauson, 4-6, 6-4, 7-5
R4: def. No. 19 Elise Mertens, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
QF: def. QF: def.
SF: def. No. 7 Iga Swiatek, 6-4, 6-1
Rafael Nadal and Daniil Medvedev will meet in the men’s final Sunday. The sixth-seeded Nadal will look to win his 21st Grand Slam title and break a three-way tie with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, while No. 2 seed Medvedev will look to follow up his 2021 US Open win and earn his second career Grand Slam.
