Ash Barty has delivered in her homeland. The world's No. 1 ranked player beat Danielle Collins in straight sets on Saturday at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, capturing the first Australian Open title of her career. In fact, Barty made epic history in the process in Melbourne, becoming the first player since Mary Pierce in 1995 to not drop any more than 30 games in the entire tournament.
Epic. She didn't lose a single set in the Australian Open, but Saturday was the first time in the entire competition that we saw any nerves from the Aussie. After winning the first set comfortably, 6-3, Collins stormed back and took a 5-1 lead in the second. It looked to be a foregone conclusion that a third set would be played, but Barty clawed her way back and won it 7-6. The crowd at Rod Laver went absolutely nuts.
In the process, Barty was the first Aussie to win the Australian Open in 44 years. The last man to win it? Chris O'Neill. He was in attendance to see history unfold. Barty meanwhile made sure to praise the fans after the amazing support she received across the last two weeks:
As an Aussie, the most important part of this tournament is being able to share it with so many people, and you guys today in the crowd have been nothing short of exceptional,” Barty said, via ESPN. “This crowd is one of the most fun I've ever played in front of and you guys brought me so much joy out there today, you relaxed me, you forced me to play my best tennis, and against a champion like Danielle, I knew I had to absolutely bring that today.”
The Australian Open triumph was the third Grand Slam of her career, previously winning Wimbledon in 2021 and the French Open in 2019.
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