Ash Barty out of Wimbledon after defeat by Daria Kasatkina

A Wimbledon campaign that began with such promise is over for Ash Barty after she was beaten by Russian Daria Kasatkina.

Ashleigh Barty returns the ball to Daria Kasatkina of Russia during their women's singles match at Wimbledon.

A Wimbledon campaign that began with such promise is over for Ash Barty after she was beaten by talented Russian Daria Kasatkina tonight.

Seeking to reach the last 16 of a grand slam for the first time, the Australian started well when securing an early break and raced to a 3-0 lead.

But her 14th seeded rival was able to work back into the first set and proved far steadier at critical moments when successful 7-5 6-3.

The Australian’s hopes were in part whipped away by the wind, with Kasatkina the far steadier player in tricky conditions.

And the French Open quarter-finalist is an accomplished player who looks capable of becoming a major winner in coming years.

But that is also a hope afforded to Barty, though the stumbling block at grand slam level remains.

The lament for the Queenslander is how quickly she went from a reasonable position in both sets to being out of the tournament.

Daria Kasatkina serves.

In the opening two rounds, the Newcombe Medallist was able to find a way out of difficult positions to claim sets.

But she could not sustain that composure today. From deuce at 5-all in the first set, she failed to win another point to concede Kasatkina a significant advantage.

And from 3-all, 40-15 on serve in the second, the Brisbane resident dropped the last 12 points in a disappointing end to a campaign that seemed promising.

Given the carnage in the women’s draw over the first week, with only two of the top ten seeds remaining, a golden opportunity has opened for women in the next tier seeking to make a grand slam statement.

But that woman will not be Barty, whose 18 winners were made redundant by 24 unforced errors.

Although she did not perform at her peak, credit must be given to Kasatkina for a strong performance.

She wrenched one of the opportunities Barty had to edge ahead at 3-all in the second set away with a brilliantly struck backhand drive from well behind the baseline while airborne.

But it was the Russian’s ability to stay in points when under pressure that was particularly impressive, with a forehand retrieval chip reminiscent of a squash shot used on a regular basis and particularly effective.

Barty was frequently in charge of points but unable to deliver the knockout blow, which forced her to go for more and more. And, as a result, the errors flowed more regularly as her frustration built.

Her loss leaves Daria Gavrilova, who is due to play Aliaksandra Sasnovich later today in Wimbledon, as the sole Australian woman remaining.

Barty felt she struggled to reap dividends from the slice backhand that had been so effective in her opening two rounds.

“(It is) frustrating today, for sure. It is disappointing to lose in any tournament, but I felt like I was playing well but not able to do that today,” she said.

“I know what I wanted to do going out there but I wasn’t able to do that. I wasn’t able to implement those things.

“I felt like my slice was not as effective as I wanted it to be, couldn’t put it in the positions I wanted to put it in. It was a generally pretty frustrating day.”

The 17th seed praised Kasatkina and conceded the Russian’s ability to make her play an additional shot proved critical to the result.

“She is a very talented, very crafty player and she is very solid and makes you play a lot of balls. Today I gave her way too many cheapies (cheap points), way too many balls in the area of the court she wanted.”