Ash Barty Hails Australian Open’s Inaugural First Nations Day After Dominant Win - UBITENNIS
Connect with us

Latest news

Ash Barty Hails Australian Open’s Inaugural First Nations Day After Dominant Win

The world No.1 explains why Tennis Australia’s latest initiative means so much to her.

Published

2 years ago

on

Image via https://twitter.com/AustralianOpen

Ash Barty said it was ‘really cool’ to be involved in celebrating a brand new initiative that has began at the Australian Open this year.

 

Wednesday at Melbourne Park marked the inaugural First Nations Day at the tournament which celebrates the history and culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. A topic close to Barty’s heart. The reigning Wimbledon champion has Aborigine roots with her father, Robert, coming from the Ngarigo community of indigenous people. Following her first round win at the Australian Open she described herself as a ‘proud Ngarigo woman, a very very proud Indigenous woman.’

“It was really cool. It was nice for me to be a part of it in a way that I feel most comfortable I suppose. Out on the tennis court is how I express myself as an athlete, it’s how I’m able to express myself as a person as well,” Barty told reporters on Wednesday.
“On a day we’re bringing cultures together, bringing people together, it was really nice for me to go out and enjoy that.’
“I just met a few of the kids that have come down from Alice Springs and all around Australia, which is amazing for them to come and experience the Australian Open on a really special day for our culture and our heritage.”

On the court Barty was in ruthless form as she stormed past Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti 6-1, 6-1, in less than an hour. Dropping only three points behind her first serve as she hit a total of 21 winners against 14 unforced errors. She has dropped only three games in two matches played so far at the Grand Slam.

“I felt like I wanted to try to use my experience a little bit today, get off to a quick start. I felt like I was able to do that. I served well. I was able to find plenty of forehands and control the match quite well, so pleased with that one.” Said Barty.

This year the 25-year-old is seeking to become the first home player in more than 40 years to win the women’s title at the Australian Open and one of only four to do so in the Open Era. Following in the footsteps of Margaret Court, Evonne Goolagong Cawley, and Chris O’Neil.

One particular area of Barty’s game that she hopes will help take her to the title is her serve. Something which she has been working on during the off-season.

“I’m not the biggest girl out there, but I know I’ve got a sound technique and I know if I can get my rhythm right and use it effectively, it can be a weapon,” she explained.
“I think Tyz (her coach Craig Tyzzer) and I put a lot of emphasis on my serve, I always have as a kid. I was always serving baskets and baskets of serves to try to create that weapon, try to create a really sound shot.’
“I think I’ve just been able to find some good rhythm and a big part of that is protecting my second serve when I need to do as well. I thought I’ve done a pretty good job of that over the last half dozen matches or so.”

Awaiting Barty in the third round will be Italy’s Camila Giorgi who is seeded 30th in the draw. Giorgi defeated Tereza Martincová 6-2, 7-6(2), in her second round match. It is the fourth time in her career she has reached the round of 32 in Melbourne.

“She has the ability to hold baseline, to control the center of the court, be super, super aggressive off her serve and first shot, particularly off her return,” Barty said of her next opponent.
“It’s going to be a match where I’m going to have to serve well, bring in variety, make sure I can cover the court, neutralize the best that I can.”

Barty leads Giorgi 3-0 in their head-to-head but one of those wins was via retirement.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Click to comment

Latest news

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

Published

3 mins ago

on

29/11/2023

By

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

4 hours ago

on

29/11/2023

By

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

Latest news

Arthur Fils eases past Flavio Cobolli to move to 2-0 at the Next Gen Finals in Jeddah

Published

7 hours ago

on

29/11/2023

By

World number 36 Arthur Fils eased past Flavio Cobolli 4-1 4-2 4-2 in 59 minutes to move to 2-0 in Green Group at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah. Fils won 72% of his first service points and fired five aces. 

 

Fils saved a break point in the first game on the deciding point. The Frenchman broke serve in the second game and rallied from 0-30 down to hold serve in the third game. 

Fils served out the first set 4-1 with a hold at love. 

Cobolli made a double fault at 30-30 in the first game of the second set, but Fils broke serve when Cobolli hit his backhand into the net. 

Cobolli saved a break point with an ace on the deciding point in the third game. Fils won his next two service games with ease to seal the second set 4-2. The Frenchman dropped two points on serve in the second set.

Fils earned an early break in the first game of the third set. Cobolli broke straight back to draw level to 1-1. Fils broke for the second time at love in the third game with a backhand down the line return winner and sealed the win on his second match point. 

Fils, who beat Luca Nardi in five sets in his opening match, will face Dominic Stricker in his third round-robin match. 

“I played very nice today. I served very good, and I was moving well on the court, so I am very happy with it. Tomorrow I have a good match against a great opponent. He already beat me once this year, so let’s what I can do”, said Arthur Fils. 

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending