World No. 1 Ash Barty downs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in three sets to advance to Adelaide International quarter-finals
Australian world No. 1 Ash Barty says her hard-fought three-set victory at the Adelaide International reminded her she’s never out of the contest, as she eyes the Australian Open in Melbourne.
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The ability to win ugly, not dwell on missed chances, is Ash Barty’s focus, after the world No. 1 – and the Adelaide International – survived a major scare.
Australia’s golden girl advanced to the quarter-finals of the Memorial Drive event on Tuesday with a gutsy come-from-behind win over Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
The reigning French Open champion dropped the first set, before overcoming a series of wobbles on her serve to down the world No. 31 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 in a gripping contest.
It secured the Queenslander’s first victory of 2020 and a much-needed confidence boost heading into next week’s Australian Open.
The success also ensured the inaugural tournament retained one of its marquee names, following the high-profile withdrawals of Venus Williams, Novak Djokovic and Alex de Minaur.
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“Something I try and pride myself on is that no matter what the score is, I try to fight and hang around for the whole match every time,” Barty said post-match.
“Last year we did it really well (and) had a really good record when I’d lost the first set of coming back and trying to win those matches, and today was no different.
“I felt like I was doing the right things, I just needed to hang in there and wait for an opportunity to come and try to grab it.
“Those tough wins, those wins when you’re not necessarily playing your best tennis, I think always make you feel pretty good deep down, knowing that you can kind of scrap out of it and get out of it.
“(She was) happy that we were able to get through, even with the ebbs and the flows, and kind of the rollercoaster that it was.”
Barty, who received a bye in the first round, had been bundled out of the Brisbane International in straight sets by American Jennifer Brady five days earlier.
She again produced a mixed display in just her second match of the year, as she served 11 aces as well as six double faults.
But she stepped up in the deciding set, after the pair exchanged two breaks each, to eventually progress to the last eight.
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Barty looked solid early, having been given a rousing Centre Court reception by the healthy day-time crowd at the revamped North Adelaide venue.
But she was broken in the fifth game of the first set and squandered a break point in the next, before Pavlyuchenkova coolly served out the set.
The Queenslander dug deep in the second to finally secure her first break of the encounter, only to drop serve two games later.
Barty again broke back in a see-sawing set and held to take the match to a third.
The 23-year-old prevailed twice on her opponent’s serve to race to a 5-2 advantage, as she appeared to be hitting her straps.
She faltered twice more with the match on her racquet, before finally closing out.
Barty will face either Australian qualifier Arina Rodionova, who had a shock win over Sloane Stephens, or world No. 16 Marketa Vondrousova in a repeat of last year’s French final.
“Obviously it’s natural to find your rhythm and find your groove the more matches you play,” said Barty, less than a week out from the year’s first Grand Slam.
“That’s the beauty of tennis, that there is always another opportunity the next week.
“That’s what the focus was after Brisbane.
‘We knew that we had another opportunity here and I now I have another opportunity in a couple of days to try to refine my game and try to problem solve as best as I could.”