Barty delivered an impeccable two weeks of tennis and she deserved it. Very happy for her that she was able to do that in front of her mum, dad and sister who have previously missed out on seeing her RG and Wimbledon finals in person.
That was a special night. As I mentioned in the preview, any of us under 45 have never seen an Australian win a singles grand slam title here in Melbourne and no Australian has lifted the trophy at Melbourne Park. Being a highly ranked Australian carries a lot of pressure and expectation. The experience of two slam finals wins and having been number one for a while now helped Barty maintain her composure under the pressure of a final here in Melbourne.
A good sign of how respected and well liked you are amongst your peers is what happens after success. The amount of fellow WTA players that congratulated Ash after her win last night really demonstrates it.
Collins competed very well and was Barty's most difficult opponent to beat during the tournament. She was very close to breaking her at 2-2 in the opening set and all things considered in the second set at 5-1 up, she should have managed to take that to a deciding set. Her speech was incredibly well spoken and gracious. It must be very tough to play an opponent in a final who has the full home crowd support.
That was a special moment having goolagong Cawley present the trophy. You could see how much that meant to Ash.
Lastly, Tiley has copped some criticism from general public, but it shows how respected and liked he is amongst the playing group. The group who is most important to the tournament, the players. Every single player thanks him personally in every post final ceremony. This has happened for many years actually.
That was a special night. As I mentioned in the preview, any of us under 45 have never seen an Australian win a singles grand slam title here in Melbourne and no Australian has lifted the trophy at Melbourne Park. Being a highly ranked Australian carries a lot of pressure and expectation. The experience of two slam finals wins and having been number one for a while now helped Barty maintain her composure under the pressure of a final here in Melbourne.
A good sign of how respected and well liked you are amongst your peers is what happens after success. The amount of fellow WTA players that congratulated Ash after her win last night really demonstrates it.
Collins competed very well and was Barty's most difficult opponent to beat during the tournament. She was very close to breaking her at 2-2 in the opening set and all things considered in the second set at 5-1 up, she should have managed to take that to a deciding set. Her speech was incredibly well spoken and gracious. It must be very tough to play an opponent in a final who has the full home crowd support.
That was a special moment having goolagong Cawley present the trophy. You could see how much that meant to Ash.
Lastly, Tiley has copped some criticism from general public, but it shows how respected and liked he is amongst the playing group. The group who is most important to the tournament, the players. Every single player thanks him personally in every post final ceremony. This has happened for many years actually.
