Barty beats Collins to win Australian Open title

Twitter/@AustralianOpen

Ash Barty beat American Danielle Collins 6-3 7-6(2) to win her first Australian Open title on Saturday, ending Australia's 44-year wait for a home winner and picked up her third Grand Slam title

Barty became the first Australian to win the event since Chris O'Neil captured the women's title in 1978.

O'Neil was present in the stands cheering as the crowd on the floodlit Rod Laver Arena erupted when Barty converted her first match point with a forehand crosscourt winner.

Collins was the first to set up a breakpoint in the contest with some forceful groundstrokes but a calm and composed Barty found the range with her serve to get out of trouble. She then broke in the next game when her opponent served up a double fault.

Some uncharacteristic forehand errors from Barty allowed Collins, who will make her top-10 debut when the rankings are updated on Monday, to break early in the second set and the American let out a shriek of "Come On" to celebrate opening up a 3-0 lead.

The American broke Barty's delivery, which looked almost impregnable this past fortnight, a second time in the set. But when Collins appeared to be on the verge of levelling the match as she served at 5-1, the Australian showed nerves of steel and raised her game.

Barty got the setback on serve and then dominated the tiebreak to complete a memorable comeback that left the home nation rejoicing all over Australia. 

 

More from Sports News

  • Neymar nets first goal since Santos return

    Neymar scored for the first time in 16 months after his penalty set Santos on the way to a 3-1 win over Agua Santa in the Paulista Championship on Sunday and the Brazil forward said he was happy to be playing again after a long injury absence.

  • H.H. Sheikh Mohammed attends Al Salam Cycling Championship

    His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and the Ruler of Dubai, attended the fourth stage of the Al Salam Cycling Championship, which took place on Sunday at Al Marmoom Conservation Reserve.

  • Man Utd 'can't run away' says boss Amorim after Spurs loss

    Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim insists there is no running away from the club's plight after they suffered a 1-0 loss at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, their 12th defeat in 25 Premier League games this season.

  • UAE to host FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Trophy Tour

    The UAE is the first stop on the Asian leg of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Trophy Tour with a visit scheduled for February 22-24.

  • Raducanu puts on dominant display in Dubai

    British debutant Emma Raducanu got her Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships campaign off to the perfect start, defeating former World Number 3 Maria Sakkari 6-4, 6-2 under the lights on Centre Court.

On Virgin Radio today

Trending on Virgin Radio