Ashleigh Barty Closes In On No.1 Ranking By Reaching Birmingham Final - UBITENNIS

Ashleigh Barty Closes In On No.1 Ranking By Reaching Birmingham Final

Ashleigh Barty will become the World No.1 if she beats doubles partner Julia Goerges in the Nature Valley Classic final in Birmingham.

By Michael Stafford-Jones
5 Min Read
Ashleigh Barty (@rolandgarros on Twitter)

Ashleigh Barty is now just one win away from becoming the World No.1 after a comprehensive 6-4 6-4 victory over Barbora Strycova in the Nature Valley Classic semi-final.

The Australian, 23, is yet to drop a set in Birmingham this year and she will have a great chance to overtake Naomi Osaka at the top of the rankings in the final tomorrow.

Barty has a simple approach for dealing with milestones like that though. “I don’t focus on them at all,” she said. “They are things I can’t control necessarily.”

She continued, “I have to prepare as best as I can for tomorrow and try and play a good tennis match. If I win, it’s a bonus, as are all the things that come with it. But those things are certainly not what I’m worried about.”

However, just because Barty does not dwell on the attention she gets, that does not mean she does not appreciate it. “It’s been incredible the amount of support that I have received from all over the world, particularly from Australians,” she said. “It’s not something that I ignore, not by any means. It’s there; there’s just not much I can do about it.”

One of the best things about the Australian’s game is her ability to nullify opponents’ strengths. It is something she has done particularly well this week in Birmingham.

“It’s absolutely something I try to do,” Barty said. “When I’m in a defensive position I have to try to neutralise as much as possible to bring it back to the game style that I want to play. Most of the time I want to be in control of the point and be able to use my forehand to control the point. When I can’t do that, it is nice to have the variety to be able to neutralise when I can.”

Barty to face Goerges in the final

The French Open champion’s capacity to subdue opponents will probably face its most severe examination of the week when she takes on doubles partner Julia Goerges in the Nature Valley Classic final. The German comfortably beat Petra Martic 6-4 6-3 in the second semi-final.

“I played Jules here last year,” Barty said. “She’s got an incredibly destructive game which this week has been on my side of the net (in doubles), which has been very nice. She has the ability to control the game from the get-go and if I play Jules, it will be important to try and bring in my variety and neutralise (her strengths) as much as possible.”

Goerges said that she and Barty know exactly what to expect from each other tomorrow. “There are no secrets in our games anymore as we practise together almost every tournament,” the German said in her on-court interview.

She elaborated in her press conference, “I’m going to be aggressive and she knows that. I know that there a lot of slices coming, some volleying, good serving and some good angles.”

Barty and Goerges have faced each other twice before, and both of those meetings took place last year. In their first encounter, here in Birmingham, the German won 7-6 6-3. Then the Australian got her revenge in Zhuhai at the end of the year with a 4-6 6-3 6-2 success.

When you consider all the factors involved, it is a difficult final to call. Goerges definitely has the kind of weapons that can cause Barty problems, so the onus will be on the Australian to find a way to stop the German doing what she does best.

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