Ashleigh Barty overcame 44 years of history, a fleeting lull and a determined fightback from one of the most tenacious competitors in the women’s game to win the Australian Open title.
To the delight of the raucously partisan home crowd, Barty fought back from 5-1 down in the second set to defeat Danielle Collins of the United States, the 27th seed, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2) and become the first homegrown champion since Chris O’Neil in 1978.
In an emotional conclusion to a fortnight in which she has been a model of dead-eyed focus and composure, the 25-year-old Queenslander embraced victory with a triumphal roar that would have put even Novak Djokovic to shame. What an antidote she has been to the gloom cast over the initial stages of the tournament by the Serb’s visa saga. Having ended her season early last year to focus her efforts on the Australian summer, Barty has cut a swathe through the draw with clinical precision and relentless consistency, working her way to the title without dropping a set.
“It was a little bit surreal,” said Barty of the moments following victory. “I think I didn’t quite know what to do or what to feel, and I think just being able to let out a little bit of emotion, which is a little bit unusual for me, and I think being able to celebrate with everyone who was there in the crowd, the energy was incredible tonight.
“I think being able to understand how much work my team and I have done behind the scenes and over the last few years, to get to this point to be able to have this opportunity, was really special. It just kind of all came out at once, and yeah – a really, really special moment.”
The Wimbledon champion’s exultation was mirrored in the stands, both by the jubilant devotees who packed the Rod Laver Arena in their thousands, unmistakeable in their bright yellow Vegemite T-shirts, and by the great and the good of the Australian sporting and celebrity firmament. O’Neil was on hand to offer a thumbs up for the cameras. Laver looked on approvingly. Cathy Freeman and Ian Thorpe, the stars of the Sydney Olympics, rose to salute the greatest Australian sporting success since those heady days in the summer of 2000, while Gladiator star Russell Crowe sat transfixed at courtside as the drama unfolded.
Here indeed was a victory to echo in eternity. Barty, whose win at the All England club last summer also ended a wait of more than four decades for an Australian women’s champion, has now won grand slam titles on three different surfaces, a feat matched among active players only by Serena Williams. Fittingly, the trophy was presented by four-time champion Evonne Goolagong-Cawley, her long-time friend and mentor, and a fellow indigenous Australian, who was unveiled as a surprise guest at the post-match ceremony.
“I thought she wasn’t coming,” said Barty. “I’d spoken to her earlier in the week, and she was staying at home and not being able to travel down this year. So to have that surprise was amazing.”
Collins acquitted herself well in her first major final. After everything that she has been through she was never going to give less than her all, and the 28-year-old showed all her trademark fighting spirit to work her way back into contention after double-faulting to drop serve in the sixth game. There was no sign of her being overawed by the occasion, and although Barty went on to seal the opening set with some imperious serving – the Australian won 82% of her first-serve points, and would finish the contest with 10 aces – Collins’ second-set fightback was as inevitable as it was impressive. Moving inside the baseline and striking her hard, flat returns with venomous power, the American briefly rocked Barty with her weight of shot and unflinching intensity.
Collins’ improvement coincided with the top seed’s first dip in form and confidence of the fortnight. As anxiety kicked in, Barty began to lose feel on her sliced backhand and power on her forehand. Her footwork slowed, her timing deserted her and, for the first time, she struggled to find her first serve. But with Collins a game away from forcing a decider, Barty steadied her nerve and went determinedly about constructing the kind of measured, intelligent points that had got her to the final in the first place, rediscovering her service rhythm and controlling the baseline exchanges with her topspin forehand as she clawed back the deficit.
“She started to push me back in the court a little bit more,” said Collins, who is set to rise into the world’s top 10 for the first time.
“I think I was having some issues really being able to fully rotate on some of my shots to be able to get my shots to where I needed them to be. It was really unfortunate, but I did everything I could, tried to push through it. Fell short. She definitely came up with some great shots in some of those big moments, especially with her serving and pushing me back in the court.”
Collins, who had been standing at the change of ends in her previous matches, revealed that she had been suffering from a lower back injury sustained during her third-round win over the Danish teenager Clara Tauson.
“It was the reason why I wasn’t sitting down the whole tournament,” said the American. “It was actually recommended at one point by one of the physical therapists, just to keep my back from spasming. The biggest issue has just been muscle spasms in the low back, which has been challenging.”