Ash Barty Snaps Krejcikova’s Winning Streak To Reach Wimbledon Quarters - UBITENNIS
Connect with us

Latest news

Ash Barty Snaps Krejcikova’s Winning Streak To Reach Wimbledon Quarters

The world No.1 has become the fist female player from her country to reach the last eight at Wimbledon in over 20 years.

Published

on

Ashleigh Barty (AUS) - Credit: AELTC/David Gray

Australia’s Ash Barty is through to the last eight of Wimbledon for the first time in her career after overcoming Barbora Krejcikova in straight sets.

 

The 25-year-old was forced to dig deep throughout her 7-5, 6-3, triumph on Court One at The All England Club. It was the first time Barty had ever played Krejcikova on the Tour and it took her a few games to work out how to tame her opponent’s game. Eventually she prevailed with the help of seven aces and 21 winners to become the first Australian woman to reach the quarter-finals since Jelena Dokic in 2000.

“It was an incredibly tough match. Barbora has had an incredible year, she has been one of the toughest players to beat,” Barty said during her on-court interview. “I was excited for the challenge today and I’m just happy to come through. I found some good stuff when I needed it the most which was great.”

The showdown was a far from easy encounter for Barty. Coming into the match French Open champion Krejcikova was on a 15-match winning streak and didn’t look to be intimidated by playing the top seed. Even though this year is the first time the Czech has played in the main draw of the tournament as a singles player.

Falling behind 1-3, Barty valiantly battled back as she began to find more rhythm in her game. Although how she broke back was thanks to Krejcikova who produced back-to-back unforced errors which enabled the Australian to draw level at 4-4. Two games later she had her first set point opportunity but failed to convert. Barty would eventually secure her breakthrough whilst leading 6-5 as she started to mix up her game to draw errors from across the court. A backhand slice landed on the baseline which forced Krejcikova to hit the ball out and handed the world No.1 three more set points. She prevailed on the first of those three chances after another backhand slice caught her opponent off guard.

Contending with some spirited play coming from across the court, Barty continued to be involved in a roller-coaster battle. Six games into the second set she looked to be on the verge of victory after breaking for a 4-2 lead thanks to clever tactical play. However, Krejcikova wasn’t prepared to go down without a fight as she began to dictate the rallies before retrieving the break straight away.

Despite the blip, Barty restored her lead once again as she moved to a game away from victory. Serving for her 32nd win of the season she closed the match out with an ace down the centre of the court.

“I get all my confidence from my team through all the work we do behind the scenes and on the court,” she said. “This is the fun part where I get to come out here (Wimbledon) and enjoy myself as much as it’s frustrating at times. I love coming out and testing myself against the best in the world and there is certainly no other place I would rather be at the moment.”

This week Barty is also trying to keep hold of her world No.1 status. The only way she can lose it is if she goes out before the semi-finals and Aryna Sabalenka wins the title.

As for the next round, Barty will take on either British wildcard Emma Raducanu or Ajla Tomljanovic.

Latest news

Luca Nardi beats Flavio Cobolli but it’s not enough to advance to the semifinals at the Next Gen Finals

Published

on

World number 115 Luca Nardi overcame Flavio Cobolli in an Italian match 3-4 (4-7) 4-2 4-3 (7-1) 1-4 4-3 (7-3) in 2 hours and 14 minutes in the final round robin match of Green Group at the Next Gen Finals at King Abdullah Sports Club in Jeddah. 

 

The win was not enough to earn a semifinal spot for Nardi. Arthur Fils is the first player to qualify for the knock-out stage. The top seeded Frenchman will face Dominic Stricker later today. Stricker needs to win just one set to reach the semifinals. 

Both players went on serve in the first set en route to the tie-break. Cobolli earned two mini-breaks to win the tie-break 7-4. 

Nardi saved two break points in the third game of the second set to take a 2-1 lead. The world number 115 broke serve in the sixth game to close out the second set 4-2. 

Cobolli converted his second break point in the first game of the third set. Nardi pulled back on serve in the sixth game to draw level to 3-3. Nardi opened up a 3-0 lead with two mini-breaks. Cobolli pulled one of the two mini-breaks back for 1-3. Nardi won the final four points with two mini-breaks to claim the tie-break 7-1. 

Nardi clutched his groin when he was serving at 0-1 in the fourth set and called a medical time-out at 0-3. Cobolli earned a break in the second game to close out the fourth set 4-1. 

Cobolli saved two break points to hold serve in the second game. Nardi fended off two break points in the fifth game. Both players held on serve en route to the tie-break. Nardi earned his first mini-break with a backhand flick from out wide to take a 2-1 lead. Cobolli pulled the mini-break back to draw level to 2-2. Nardi closed out the match with a return down the line winner.   

Nardi hit 27 winners to 12 unforced errors. 

“I am happy with the win. Even if I did not qualify, I think today was the best match I played out of the three. I am a bit sad I did not qualify, but I did not want to leave Jeddah without a win. I kept fighting today and I am happy”, said Nardi. 

Continue Reading

Latest news

Hamad Medjedovic moves to 2-0 in Red Group at the Next Gen Finals in Jeddah

Published

on

Hamad Medjedovic edged past Luca Van Assche 4-2 2-4 4-3 (9-7) 4-1 to move to 2-0 In Red Group at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah one day after winning a marathon five-set match against Alex Michelsen. 

 

Medjedovic broke serve in the third game of the opening set to take a 2-1 lead. He held serve and saved two break points in the sixth game to close out the first set 4-2. 

Van Assche saved three break points at 2-2 before breaking serve in the sixth game  with a running forehand pass to seal the second set 4-2. 

Medjedovic earned a break point in the first game of the third set, when Van Assche made a double fault. Van Assche saved them to hold on his serve. Both players held on serve en route to a tie-break. Van Assche raced out to a 5-1 lead. Medjedovic won three consecutive points to claw his way back to 4-5. Van Assche earned three set points at 6-4, 6-5 and 7-6, but Medjedovic won the final three points to win the tie-break 9-7. 

Medjedovic left the court for nine minutes for a bathroom break. 

Medjedovic broke serve in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead. When he was serving out the match, he saved three break points as he closed out the win with two unreturned serves. 

“For sure the tie-break changed a lot of things in this match. He had three set points. I stayed focused on the important points. I was consistent, hitting the ball hard, and I am glad that I won the tie-break”, said Medjedovic. 

Continue Reading

Latest news

Abdullah Shelbayh upsets Alex Michelsen to win his first win at the Next Gen Finals in Jeddah

Published

on

Jordan’s wild card Abdullah Shelbayh beat world number 97 Alex Michelsen 4-2 1-4 4-0 4-0 to clinch his fourth top 100 win. Shelbayh moves to 1-1 in Red Group. 

 

Shelbayh hit 26 winners, including seven aces. The Asian player will face Serbia’s Hamad Medjedovic in his third round robin match. 

Shelbayh earned the first break in the third game of the opening set to take a 2-1 lead. The wild card held his next two service games at 30 to close out the first set 4-2. 

Michelsen, who reached the ATP 250 final in Newport last summer, broke in the second game of the second set to take a 2-0 lead, when Shelbayh made a backhand error. 

Michelsen earned a break point in the first game of the third set, but Shelbayh saved it with an ace. The Jordanan player held serve before breaking serve to close out the third set 4-0. Shelbayh won four consecutive games with two breaks of serve to win the fourth set 4-0. 

“Having the opportunity to play here now to finish here, I could not ask for a better end to the year. I appreciate all the support throughout the week that I have been receiving already, throughout the year and from the Arab world especially. It makes me happy to represent my country. There is some pressure but you feel like it’s good pressure to have on you shoulders when you are representing your country and the region you come from”,said Shelbayh. 

Shelbayh improved his ATP ranking from world 470 to 185. His tennis idol is Rafael Nadal. Shelbayh has trained at the Rafa Nadal for more than five years. Toni Nadal flew to Jordan when Shelbayh was 13 years old to recruit him to train at the Rafa Nadal Academy. He became the first Jordanan player to win a main-draw ATP Tour match last April against Elias Ymer in Banja Luka. 

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending