Ash Barty is still yet to watch a replay of her breakthrough grand slam win at Roland Garros
Ash Barty is certainly enjoying her time in isolation. She’s trimmed her golf handicap, walks the dog and spends time with family. She’s even contemplating watching a replay of last year’s French Open final for the first time.
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For a period surrounding Ash Barty’s remarkable French Open triumph a year ago, the Queenslander and her team felt like they had been cast in a Parisian thriller.
From the moment the world No 1 reached the final until near dawn on the day after her stunning success, they were watched closely by two silent security guards.
They pulled up alongside Barty’s car on motorbikes at traffic lights, sat silently in the corner of a restaurant they dined at and stood guard outside her hotel room at night.
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“It was a bit strange, to be honest. I’m not used to having security guards looking after me,” Barty told News Corp Australia.
“I think they were shocked by our restaurant choice for dinner the night before the final. Every night, we went to the same little sushi place near the hotel. My team and I like to keep things pretty relaxed and simple.”
They had been warned of what to expect by the King of Clay, Rafael Nadal, who is well-versed in the measures the organisers at Roland Garros take to protect potential champions.
“It was like being in a Jason Bourne movie. We were laughing so much. It was fascinating,” Barty’s coach Craig Tyzzer said.
“We had spoken to Rafa quickly after the semi and he said to us, ‘If you are in the final, you will get the security guards’. A little girl came up to us (at dinner) and asked us for an autograph and I was saying, ‘you be very careful’.
“They would be outside Ash’s room when she went to bed and there the next morning. It was quite different and quite unexpected.”
In regular circumstances, Barty would have been hoping to stride on to Stade Philippe Chartrier this weekend to defend her Roland Garros title.
But coronavirus has crippled the professional circuit and it is uncertain when tennis will resume.
Nadal said this week he was worried about heading to New York for the US Open starting in the last week of August and the Barty camp also have some concerns about the prospect of that major going ahead.
Meanwhile, the Queenslander has spent the past week in much the same manner as the past couple of months.
She has walked her dogs and spent time with family and friends, maintained her fitness, practised a little and spent some time on the golf course. Her partner on Thursday at the Gold Coast’s Hope Island course was former world No 1 Pat Rafter.
In the past couple of months Barty has shaved her handicap from 10 to four — little wonder Tiger Woods was so impressed with her swing when he was over in Melbourne last December for the Presidents Cup.
It seems remarkable, but Barty is yet to watch a replay of her victory over Marketa Vondrousova in the Roland Garros final.
Her coach Tyzzer hopes that she does — he described her performance in the biggest match of her career as “faultless”.
And that may change on Saturday night when the 24-year-old toasts the anniversary with close friends.
“I’m still deciding if I’ll watch the match on the weekend. I might see how I feel after a drink,” she said.
“I’m happy to be home, with my family and friends, reflecting on what was one of the most incredible weeks of my life.”
Barty had announced herself as a major contender by the time she arrived in Paris last May, having broken into the top 10 with her victory in the Miami Open.
But she even surprised the people in her team with her form on the red dirt as she became the first Australian since Margaret Court in 1973 to win in Paris.
After early wins over Jess Pegula, Australian Open semi-finalist Danielle Collins and Germany’s Andrea Petkovic, Barty, the No 8 seed, then ousted Sofia Kenin, this year’s Australian Open champion.
But it was Barty’s quarter-final straight sets triumph against Madison Keys, who had beaten the Aussie in Paris in 2017, that impressed Tyzzer the most.
The semi-final against US teenager Amanda Anisimova was more problematic.
Tyzzer had watched the precocious talent whip defending champion Simona Halep in a quarter-final, a performance he called phenomenal.
Barty bounced out of the blocks to a 5-0 lead but her radar went awry and she soon found herself a set and break behind.
But Barty’s belief kicked into gear in what Tyzzer described as a “massive turning point” in both her year and career.
“That semi-final in Paris was probably the most important match of my career in terms of how much I learnt,” Barty said.
Any uncertainty had evaporated by the time of the final.
As a delayed men’s semi-final between Novak Djokovic and Dominic Thiem dragged on, Barty and her team passed the time with a game of cricket in an indoor gym. Tyzzer noted Vondrousova, a left-hander of considerable talent, appeared unsure how to handle the prolonged delay.
“I actually felt for her. But I also felt she was sapping up energy and thinking it, whereas Ash was quite comfortable and I felt confident because she was sitting around not thinking about it,” he said.
The Australian got off to a brilliant start and powered away to win 6-1 6-3.
“It was just faultless tennis and she does need to go back and watch it,” Tyzzer said.
“She just played that well, it would not have mattered who she played.”