Damning prediction for Ash Barty’s career: Aussie a one-slam wonder

A leading tennis commentator has delivered a frightening forecast for the rest of Ash Barty’s career after her shock Australian Open exit.

Ashleigh Barty plays a forehand against Karolina Muchova. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)

Ash Barty’s French Open triumph might be remembered as a flash in the pan.

That’s the sobering prediction from leading tennis commentator Brett Phillips who has served up a dose of reality after the world number one was upset by 25th seed Karolina Muchova in a three-set boilover at the Australian Open on Wednesday.

Phillips didn’t want to hear about the medical time-out controversy which swung the match in Muchova’s favour, instead pointing the finger at the Aussie for falling apart in a 1-6 6-3 6-2 defeat.

“It was pretty poor to be totally honest, probably the poorest game I’ve seen Ash Barty play,” Phillips told SEN Breakfast.

“She was missing far too many balls (and) just being really passive. (She was) bunting balls back into play but not really being assertive enough …

“That’s definitely one that got away for Ash Barty. If there was ever a chance for her to win the Australian Open it was this year.”

Barty didn’t offer any excuses either in an encouraging sign she will bounce back from the defeat and continue to give herself chances at grand slam level.

But Phillips said not to count on her ever repeating her win at Roland Garros in 2019.

A tennis commentator says Ash Barty might never win another grand slam.

“She’s world number one but she was never a player that was going to go on and just steam-roll grand slams,” Phillips said.

“Serena’s been a freak winning 23. Sharapova won five and really had to battle to win those five. Kerber’s won three, Osaka’s won three … I mean, Ash may only ever be a one-time grand slam winner, who knows? It’s so tough in the women’s game. It’s deep, it’s competitive.”

Phillips said Barty’s passivity had been exposed against Muchova and it was time for a rethink with her coach Craig Tyzzer.

“She’s certainly going to have to find some other elements to her game to stay ahead of the pack,” he said.

“You’d love her just to be a bit more assertive and take control of the game. That’s not Ash’s style, to blow someone off court. But maybe just trying to get the upper hand in rallies instead of waiting for the opposition player to unravel at the other end.”

Ashleigh Barty talks to the media following her match against Karolina Muchova. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

That Barty made it to the quarters is extremely admirable given she sat out almost all of 2020 once the pandemic hit, and only returned to competitive action a couple of weeks ago. Winning a grand slam without match practice is a tall order — even for the world No. 1 — so she deserves praise for getting as far as she did.

But there will be concerns the Australian Open may be her bogey tournament, with the pressure to win the most prestigious trophy on home soil unlike anything else she faces in her career.

It’s too early to say just yet — she’s only 24 after all — but there remains the risk the Australian Open will be for Barty what Wimbledon was for Brit Tim Henman — a suffocating pressure cooker where lofty expectations were impossible to meet.

Barty lost to Petra Kvitova in the quarterfinals in 2019 and to eventual winner Sofia Kenin in the semis last year, before falling to Muchova this time around.

Worryingly, in the past two years the Queenslander has lost to players ranked significantly lower than her at Melbourne Park.

– with James Matthey