Ash Barty knocked out of Australian Open by Japan’s Naomi Osaka, 6-4 6-2

ASH Barty was unable to conjure another great escape as her Australian Open came to an end with an uncharacteristically sloppy display against Japan’s Naomi Osaka.

Ash Barty was in trouble against Naomi Osaka. Picture: Michael Klein

ASH Barty’s tournament of living dangerously is over.

The Queenslander dodged Australian Open calamity against Aryna Sabalenka and Camila Giorgi after overcoming sluggish starts in early rounds, but there was no escape against Japan’s Naomi Osaka.

Woeful serving at the beginning of both sets sealed Barty’s fate 6-4 6-2, sinking hopes the world No.17 would end Australia’s 40-year women’s singles drought.

Inspired world No.72 Osaka ensured 1978 champion Christine O’Neill remained the nation’s most recent champion with a stunning demolition of Newcombe medallist Barty.

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The right-hander simply packed too many guns for Barty, pinning the Australian deep behind the baseline and nullifying the conjurer’s influence.

The defeat means Barty is yet to progress beyond the third round of a major amid expectation she will eventually vie for grand slam success.

Ash Barty struggled against Naomi Osaka. Picture: Michael Klein

The Australian was left to rue lost opportunity, landing just 13 winners to Osaka’s 24.

She also made more unforced errors — 22 to 21 — in an uncharacteristically sloppy display.

Based in the US, Osaka is one of the more aggressive players in the sport but, unlike Barty’s previous opponents Sabalenka and Giorgi, her power is offset by a degree of subtlety.

She employed large doses of guile and firepower to break Barty’s serve in the first game of the match and then again in the opening and third games of the second set.

As much as the crowd on Margaret Court Arena attempted to lift Barty, Osaka was simply too strong.

Barty, 21, cut a desolate figure as she trudged from view, drawing the applause of spectators — and Osaka.

Later that night, she lamented her missed opportunities against the big hitter.

“I’m pretty shattered and it’s a missed opportunity only because we’ve done well to get here and would have loved to have gone further,” the 17th seed said after straight-sets defeat.

“I would have loved to have gone deeper and obviously still be in the tournament come the second week, but wasn’t meant to be.

“I think we can certainly be proud of what we’ve achieved in these last few weeks and look to move forward for the rest of the year.

“I think as any professional athlete, you can be on a massive high, and it can all come crashing down in one day. Today, that was my day.

“Wasn’t a good day at the office for me. But we’ve still had a pretty unbelievable summer.”

Barty said she was unaffected by the decision to transfer the match from Rod Laver Arena to Margaret Court Area.

“We were sort of aware of what was going on. For me, I played on Margaret Court in years before. Knew the court. So, no, that had nothing to do with it (defeat),” she said.

“She served unbelievably well today, was able to get control of the points pretty early. I think that was something that I had to try and sort of stop her doing but wasn’t able to do so tonight.

Ash Barty struggled with Naomi Osaka’s big hitting. Picture: Michael Klein

“Naomi played a great match. Especially in times when I was able to have my nose in front, she served great and came up with the goods. Sometimes you just have to tip your hat to your opponent.

“I wasn’t able to get into too many of her service games. I had a sniff at a couple games, 15-30s, 30-All points. But she served great and played the big points well tonight.”

Barty and Casey Dellacqua bowed out in doubles to the US pairing of Jennifer Brady and Vania King.

Osaka, who is now into the fourth round of a major for the first time, was elated.

“I feel really happy but I feel kind of sorry because I knew you guys really wanted (Barty) to win,” she said.

“Thank you because I’ve always wanted to play an Australian player, watching on TV it looks really cool and it was, so thankyou.”

Naomi Osaka hit Ash Barty off the court. Picture: Michael Klein

The right-hander was also grateful the match was switched from Rod Laver Arena to Margaret Court Arena, averting a scheduling backlog.

The change meant Barty had fewer supporters in the smaller court.

“I think there would have been a lot more people cheering for her (in Rod Laver Arena) so thank you,” she said.

Osaka will next challenge world No 1 Simona Halep, who barely survived American Lauren Davis in a third-round cliffhanger.