Ash Barty survives ‘scary’ teen Coco Gauff after top 10 stars bundled out

Ash Barty was nearly another top 10 ranked casualty in Adelaide but the World No. 1 has pulled a rabbit out of her hat.

Ash Barty has started her 2022 season with a tough 4-6 7-5 6-1 victory over American teenager Coco Gauff at the Adelaide International.

The two-time Grand Slam winner has had a mixed history in Adelaide having won her first WTA title on home soil at the Adelaide International in 2020 before being bundled out in the second round in 2021 — after a first round bye — to American Danielle Collins.

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However it was her first match after spending 2020 out of the game due to the Covid-19 pandemic and she quickly responded by winning the Yarra Valley Classic as a lead in to last years’ Australian Open.

It was one of five titles Barty won 2021, including her first Wimbledon crown in another calendar year as world No. 1.

But having not played since the US Open in early September, the time off saw some rust needing to be worked out and Barty lost her second service game after struggling to get into the rhythm.

The 17-year-old Gauff came into the match with the wood over the Aussie in their only match together, having defeated an injured Barty in Rome last year — an injury that derailed her French Open defence.

Just when you think she’s down, Ash Barty romps back to win. Photo by Sarah Reed/Getty Images

Barty bounced back straight away however and took the game back on serve until the ninth game when Gauff once again broke the Aussie World No. 1 and charged on to claim the first set 6-4.

It looked as though Barty may have followed the trend of high profile exits in Adelaide as second seed Aryna Sabalenka and third seed Maria Sakkari were bundled out of the tournament earlier in the day.

Gauff then broke again in the fifth game of the second set to take full control of the match.

Scary how good Coco Gauff is at 17. She looks so comfortable at the top level already

— Tim Callanan (@MrTimCallanan) January 5, 2022

In commentary for Stan Sport, Jelena Dokic said of Gauff: “Fearless isn’t she? World No.1, it really doesn’t matter, really brave with the way she plays and goes about things. Great movement, great footwork, athleticism and agility. You wouldn’t think you were looking at a 17-year-old.”

It was huge performance from the American teenager as she put Barty under pressure throughout first set and a half but just as it looked like Gauff was about to run away with the victory, Barty clicked into gear.

So close but so far for Coco Gauff. Photo by Sarah Reed/Getty Images

After hitting back to get back on serve and in a sign she was starting to shake off the rust, the Aussie champion sent the vocal Adelaide crowd wild when she sealed the break point to avoid the tie-break, claiming the second set 7-5.

And the Aussie ran away in the third set, opening up a 5-1 lead as she piled on the pressure as Gauff began to make some mistakes.

But just as Gauff looked to be launching a comeback of her own, having earned three break points as Barty served for the match, the Aussie champ expertly responded and closed out the match.

“This old body might be a little sore tomorrow I think,” the 25-year-old Queenslander quipped after the tough match.

“It’s great to come out here and I think I played a pretty good quality match considering it was the first match in a few months. Coco played great, she forced me to hit a lot of balls tonight and I feel like I got better and better as the match went on.”

Barty said she felt like she went through a tough period in the second set but that the Aussie crowd lifted her up.

“I’m not the type of person that gives you a lot but I promise, I love it, I promise I do,” she said of the crowd. “It’s felt like an eternity since I’ve been back playing at home and it’s so nice to hear so many kids out here and hear so many Australian accents. You genuinely miss it when you’re away and we had a big stint away from home and there is genuinely no place I’d rather be than here in Adelaide.”

Ash Barty romped back to win. Photo by Sarah Reed/Getty Images

No doubt who’s side the fans were on. Photo by Sarah Reed/Getty Images

Although she claimed the win, Barty wasn’t the only big gun who struggled on the day. World No. 2 Sabalenka imploded with a shocking 18 double faults to crash out 7-6 6-1 to World No. 100 Slovenian Kaja Juvan.

It’s far from the ideal start to the 23-year-old Belarusian’s Australian Open campaign as a Grand Slam title still alludes her.

The 21-year-old Slovenian even admitted sympathy for her much higher ranked opponent.

“I was feeling a little bit sorry at some points because I … knew she’s not doing the best with the serve and we all know how that feels at one point,” Juvan said.

“I know she can do it better, but on the other hand, I was just saying to myself, ‘Focus. Stay here until the end. It can turn at any point’.”

World No. 6 Sakkari also crashed out of the tournament in three sets to World No. 40 and Barty’s US Open vanquisher Shelby Rogers 7-6 2-6 6-4.