Eighth seed Ashleigh Barty won her maiden Grand Slam title with a decisive 6-1 6-3 victory over fellow major finals debutante Marketa Vondrousova and became the first Australian since Margaret Court 46 years ago to clinch the singles title at the French Open.
The 23-year-old Barty started the final off with aggression, winning three out of nine break points in the first set and hitting 13 winners to Vondrousova’s mere two, to take the set in just 29 minutes, the first set which the 19-year-old Czech had dropped this fortnight in Paris.
Barty opened the second set by breaking Vondrousova and maintained that lead throughout, even hitting four winners from 15-40 in what turned out to be the final game to earn a championship-winning break. It was the more experienced player that triumphed today, as the world No.38 teenager failed to exhibit the versatility that had led her into the final at Roland Garros.
The most interesting thing about Barty’s career is that she had stopped playing tennis in 2014 and dedicated to professional cricket. Seventeen months later, Barty returned to the WTA tour at the modest ranking of No.623 and has since won all the five singles titles of her career.
When the new rankings are released on Monday, Barty will enjoy position No.2 in singles, climbing six spots from her current No.8. Let’s also mention that Barty is one of the best doubles players at the moment, justified by her doubles ranking of No.8 and the 2018 US Open doubles title that she won together with American Coco Vandeweghe. At this French Open she made the third round, teamed up with Victoria Azarenka.
En route to the fairytale triumph, Barty, clad in Fila’s special P.L. Rolando collection, faced just two non-American players: German Andrea Petkovic in the third round and Czech Marketa Vondrousova in the final. The Americans that Barty dispatched on the Paris clay include Jessica Pegula, Danielle Collins, Sofia Kenin, Amanda Anisimova, and her only seeded opponent, No.14 Madison Keys.
Good win for Barty. Wimbledon will be great for her game too.
Can’t wait to see how she goes on grass, her game is so strong for it. With that added confidence, she could win Wimbledon and be two-for-two with Osaka.