World No.1 Ashleigh Barty clinched her third Grand Slam title with a 6-3 7-6(2) victory over Danielle Collins in the final of the 2022 Australian Open.
The 27th-seeded Collins double-faulted in the sixth game to hand Barty what proved to be a crucial break in the 32-minute first set. It seemed that the match was progressing into a decider when the American raced to a 5-1 lead in the second set, but Barty won four straight games to level to 5-5 and then dominated the tiebreak.
We can give credit to Collins for being the biggest challenge to Barty this fortnight at Melbourne Park, even though the match finished in straight sets. The 25-year-old Barty had dropped just 21 games en route to the final, and dropped serve just once, in victories over Lesia Tsurenko, Lucia Bronzetti, Camila Giorgi, Amanda Anisimova, Jessica Pegula and Madison Keys. Against Collins, her fourth American opponent in a row, Barty suffered two breaks of serve.
This is the first Australian Open title for a home representative since 1978 when the unseeded Chris O’Neill defeated Betsy Nagelsen. Having already won Roland Garros 2019 and Wimbledon 2021, Barty has now joined Serena Williams as one of only two active player to win Slams on all three surfaces.
Barty’s winning tennis apparel and shoes: the Fila Foul Line Racerback Tank, Fila Foul Line Skirt and Fila Axilus 2.0 Energized Flame Scarlet Women’s Shoes.
Yup, a lovely lovely outcome. Let`s not forget, too, that Danielle`s `biggest challenge` along the way, pushing her to a gruelling and obviously infuriating 7-5 in the last, was none other than the Dreamy Dane, Clara Tauson.