Ash Barty’s wild reaction to remarkable career first at Wimbledon

Ash Barty has maintained the rage at Wimbledon, doing something she’s never achieved before and reacting in surprising fashion.

The Barty Party continues.

World No. 1 Ash Barty has booked her place in the Wimbledon quarter-finals with a classy 7-5 6-3 straight sets victory over Czech star Barbora Krejcikova.

Barty, who had never progressed beyond the last 16 at Wimbledon before this year, is bidding to win her first singles title in London on the 50th anniversary of fellow Indigenous Australian Evonne Goolagong Cawley’s maiden crown.

Krejcikova was coming off a 15-match winning streak, but the Australian’s powerful forehand proved the difference. Barty, who briefly found herself in trouble after Krejcikova broke serve early in the opening set, described it as “an incredibly tough match”.

“Barbora has had an incredible year honestly. She’s been one of the toughest players to beat, and I was excited for the challenge today,” she said after the win.

“I found some pretty good stuff when I needed it most, which is great.

“In a sense of being in the quarters, I’m happy. I’m excited. It’s another stepping stone for me. It’s another first, I suppose.

“It’s kind of going to be a new situation, a new scenario, one that I’m going to look forward to.

“I’m going to enjoy it no matter what. I think it’s a stepping stone to what is kind of one of my biggest dreams. We just keep chipping away.”

Barty has her eyes on the prize. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images).

Defeat brought an end to Krejcikova’s 15-match winning streak and she will have to wait another year to see if she can emulate her late coach and mentor Jana Novotna in winning the title.

Barty may have won in straight sets but that did not really tell the full tale of a hard fought 95-minute encounter against an opponent who had yet to win a main draw singles grass match prior to Wimbledon.

Barty’s serve was once again her Achilles heel, being broken early in the first set and then again in the second when she served for the match.

Fortunately for the Aussie supporters on Court 1 — one of whom was holding a hand written card saying “It’s Barty’s Party” — she broke Krejcikova’s serve to take the match.

Perhaps illustrating a mix of relief and celebration Barty fist pumped as normal but also let out a yell with her eyes directed towards her team in the guest box.

It was a surprising show of emotion from the Queenslander, who rarely gets so animated, but perhaps reveals how thrilled she was to finally make it to the quarters at the All England Club.

Awesome reaction from @ashbarty on reaching her maiden #Wimbledon QF in singles. pic.twitter.com/8ZYPLFqC1y

— Tennis GIFs 🎾🎥 (@tennis_gifs) July 5, 2021

The 2019 French Open champion — who coincidentally also had a 15-match winning streak ended when she lost in the fourth round of Wimbledon two years ago — will face either Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic or British teenager Emma Raducanu in the quarter-finals.

“I found some good stuff when it was important,” Barty said.

“This is a bit down to the work myself and my team do in practice but this is the fun part to come out and enjoy myself.

“It can be frustrating at times but it tastes sweeter when you win.”
How it happened: First set

Krejcikova was the first to break serve on Court 1, with a couple of unforced errors from Barty gifting the Czech star an early 3-1 lead.

The Aussie saved another break point with a powerful forehand winner at 4-2, but double faults and unforced errors plagued her opening set.

Meanwhile, mistakes from Krejcikova were few and far between.

Another well-directed forehand winner from Barty at 4-3 gave the world No. 1 her first break point of the match, but she couldn’t convert the rare opportunity.

However, two uncharacteristic errors from Krejcikova put the opening set back on serve at 4-4.

The set looked destined for a tiebreak after three crucial holds, but Barty defiantly broke serve to love to claim the first set.

Barty keeps rolling on. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Second set

The opening five games remained on serve in an evenly-contested second set. Barty saved two break points in her second service game, recovering from 15-40 down to keep the set on serve.

The Aussie took a 3-2 lead with a classy backhand winner that evaded Krejcikova at the net. Light rain started falling at 3-2, but both players were happy to continue.

Krejcikova began to show signs of fatigue soon after and Barty managed to break serve and go ahead 4-2.

The reigning French Open champion immediately struck back by taking a 40-0 lead in Barty’s following service game, but the world No. 1 showed her class by winning the subsequent three points.

However in another twist of fate, Krejcikova broke serve to keep herself in the contest.

The topsy-turvy nature of the match continued when Barty once again broke serve, putting her one game away from a spot in the Wimbledon quarter-finals.

Barty then booked her place in the top eight with an ace, and celebrated the victory with a defiant fist pump.

A Wimbledon title remains within reach.

With AFP