All you need Ashleigh Barty to shine before the world is a racket and the power of his body and mind. He is not a person who presumes to appear on magazine covers or raise his voice, but prefers that his prominence be through the tennis courts, and at least at the beginning of the year, he is literally achieving it by playing at home, during the Australian Open 2022.
In their most recent meeting, Barty cruised past American Jessica Pegula to secure a spot in the semifinals of the Grand Slam Australian. He has accumulated eight matches winning without conceding a single set, including since the quarterfinals of the WTA 250 in Adelaide a few days ago. Her potential is so great that rivals no longer find words to describe her.
“I don’t feel so bad. What Ash did today was too good. Unfortunately, today I was one of his victims, I couldn’t do much. I have felt useless, against her you feel that you cannot get many free points, there is not much you can do”, said Pegula at the end of the quarterfinal match (6-2 and 6-0).
The pace he is leading makes him dream of a feat that has been off for years. Barty fight to be the first Australian to win the Grand Slam of his country since 1978, when the then number 111 in the world, Chris O’Neil, defeated Betsy Nagelsen; Ashleigh is just two wins away from achieving it and her next opponent doesn’t seem too difficult on paper: Madison Keys, current number 51 in the WTA ranking.
Barty’s potential has found languages beyond words: since October 18 he is part of the group of eight tennis players in all of history who have been able to maintain the number 1 ranking for 100 weeks or more, and is also part of a even more select conglomerate, where are the players who have been able to stay at the top for three years, neither more nor less than along with Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf and Serena Williams.
Until now, Barty he has only lost eight games in the first three matches of the Australian Open and has gone 58 consecutive without having his serve snatched; has not lost it since January 5, during the eighths of the Adelaide WTA 250, in front of Coco Gauff. These records lead her once again towards the grand final.
Barty He is 25 years old and has won 26 titles in his career at a senior level, although only two have been Grand Slams: Roland Garros 2019 and Wimbledon 2021. In Australia, her greatest reach had been the 2020 semifinals, but now she is on the eve of becoming the 10th winner for her country playing the major within her territory.
If she manages to advance to the final, it will be the first time with an Australian since Wendy Turnbull in 1980. For now, she has already left behind Pegula, Amanda Anisimova, Camila Giorgi, Lucia Bronzetti and Lesia Tsurenko, while eight of the 10 The best seeds have already said goodbye and the chances are increasing: Aryna Sabalenka (number 2), Garbiñe Muguruza (3), Barbora Krejcikova (4), Maria Sakkari (5), Anett Kontaveit (6), Paula Badosa (8), Ons Jabeur ( 9) and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (10).
One of the inspirations Barty when playing at home he comes from his indigenous roots, since his father is originally from the ngarigo community. According to the Australian newspaper The Age, this has led to thousands of children from indigenous communities in Australia preferring to start playing tennis instead of soccer or rugby; also more than one and a half million Australians played tennis during the last year and child licenses increased by 30%, mentions said medium.
“I’m just trying to be myself, and if I’m able to make these kids enjoy and grab attention for our sport, it’s exciting for me,” said the 1.66-meter-tall tennis player, alluding to the numbers of those infants.
A nivel sponsors, Barty meets brands like Jaguar, Kayo Sports, Vegetime, Rado, Banana Boat, Esmi, Gillette, Uber Eats, Yopro and Australia Tourism, while his clothing is provided by Fila and Rado meets Rado.
Australia has already found Barty as one of its national figures, but now Ashleigh looks to return those decorations by reaching the final of her country’s Grand Slam, breaking a streak of 42 years without an Australian and 44 years without a title. She is number 1 in the world, so it is only up to her to achieve it.
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