After a two-year absence and returning to the sport. Ash Barty has been ranked No. 1 in the world by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), after rising to the top of women’s singles.
It appears that 2019 is the year for 23-year-old, who won her first Grand Slam title earlier this year at Roland Garros. If you’re looking at US Open odds, you’ll find Barty one of the favourites (behind Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka) at 15/2; but can she surge to another Grand Slam title?
2019 Grand Slams
In the three Grand Slam tournaments that have already been played this year, Barty has produced some of her best performances, going further than she ever has in each competition.
Australian Open
Barty wasn’t considered one of the early favourites going in to the Australian Open, but made the quarter-finals, regardless. In the early rounds, she overcame three unseeded opponents, winning all of those matches in straight sets; before taking on the 2008 winner, Maria Sharapova in round four. The Russian provided a difficult test for Barty, taking the match to three sets and despite losing the first set, however Barty emerged victorious: 4-6, 6-1, 6-4. A place in the quarter-finals loomed, with the eighth-seed Petra Kvitová her opponent. The Czech proved too powerful, dominating with a 6-1, 6-4 win and going all the way to the final.
However, it was a great performance from Barty, which put her in good stead for the second Grand Slam of the year: the French Open.
French Open
Her best finish prior to her 2019 Roland-Garros success saw Barty only reach the second round; and with this in mind, despite her performance at the Australian Open, she wasn’t tipped to win the tournament, with Simona Halep and Naomi Osaka among the favourites for the title.
However, the eighth-seed had a fortunate draw, facing four unseeded opponents in the early rounds, before taking on Madison Keys in the quarter-finals. A straight-sets victory then rewarded her with another unseeded opponent in the semi-finals before she won the final in straight sets over Czech teenager, Markéta Vondroušová.
She went into Wimbledon as the tournament favourite.
Wimbledon
Barty won her first three matches during the opening week of the prestigious tournament at the All England Club without dropping a set, asserting her dominance over her opponents.
She eased past Zheng Saisai of China in the first round: 6-4, 6-2 on Court 1; before it took a 55-minute demolition over Alison Van Uytvanck in round 2: 6-1, 6-3; and even less time to brush aside Harriet Dart in straight sets: 6-1, 6-1.
However, the tournament threw up a number of shock defeats and Barty found herself knocked-out in the second week on ‘Manic Monday’, losing to unseeded American Alison Riske (ranked 55 in the world) in the fourth round.
Can she win the US Open?
Barty’s steadily mounting a climb in the final Grand Slam of the year, and since her two-year absence, she’s made the third-round (2017) and the fourth-round (2018).
In 2017, she lost to eventual winner, Sloane Stephens; while last year she lost to Karolína Plíšková, who she has since beaten in the final of the Miami Open.
Despite losing in the fourth round of Wimbledon, Barty will hold onto her number 1 world ranking, due to the early exits at SW19 for rivals: Osaka, Plíšková, Bertens and Kerber; however, there will be the pressure of knowing she goes into another Grand Slam as one of the favourites for the title.
Following her Wimbledon exit, Barty said: “The positives of what have been over the last two months, last six months, and for this year, it’s been incredible.
“Today wasn’t my day, but that’s not going to define us as a team, it’s not going to define me as a person. That’s the most important thing.
“I have some really good memories (of the U.S. Open) from last year. We go back, we knuckle down, train again, then we go again.”
