Ash Barty thinks her way past Danielle Collins at Adelaide International

Ash Barty has opened her season not firing on all cylinders, but her tennis IQ seems to be working well enough.

Ash Barty leans into a forehand against Danielle Collins in their semi-final at the Adelaide International. Picture: AAP

Ash Barty gave one of the better quotes of her life when she returned to tennis from cricket and nearly beat the top-seeded Karolina Plíšková at the Nottingham Open.

“It’s nice to know that straight off the bat I can come in and compete with the best in the world,” she said with a dryness of humour that could have earned her a gig at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

Watch over 50 sports LIVE on Kayo! Stream to your TV, mobile, tablet or computer. Just $25/month, cancel anytime. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >

Straight off the bat! I assume she spoke with her tongue fielding in her cheek, with her script writer getting a raise and with her wisecracking sensibilities suitably tickled. But if switching from willow to graphite was a walk in an English park for Barty back in 2016, what has become more difficult is winning matches at the start of the season.

Straight off the bat for another year, the world No 1 – Plíšková is No 2 – has overcome a few serious jitters to beat American Danielle Collins 3-6 6-1 7-6 (7-5) in the semi-finals of the Adelaide International. She’s worked the crowd beautifully, motioning for more support with a royal wave of her hand, receiving a thunderous roar.

Barty lost to the unheralded Jennifer Brady in Brisbane.

These have not been her most assured nor confidence-building knocks ahead of her opening match at the Australian Open on Monday night, but her elevated tennis IQ has allowed her to think her way past the red-lining Collins.

Barty plays Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko in the first round next week. It takes a while to find Tsurenko on the world rankings. You have to scroll down and down and down the page – oh, there she is, at 120. Barty will probably give her a nice old whack.

The Australian is hardly firing on all cylinders in her attempt to become the first homegrown Open champion since Chris O’Neil in 1978, but she’s playing tough.

It takes a while to find O’Neill on the seedings for the ’78 event. You have to scroll down and down and down the page – oh, there she is, unseeded. Only seeds win majors in this day and age, which makes Barty a one-in-32 chance, but I think there’s only six potential winners: Barty, Serena Williams, Plíšková, Simona Halep, Petra Kvitova and as a bolter, the 19-year-old Dayana Yastremska, who Barty meets in the Adelaide final, although it’s probably too soon for her.

I just cannot see the next rung of players – Madison Keys, Belinda Bencic, Elina Svitolina, Kiki Bertens and even the defending champion, Naomi Osaka, who’s been injured and erratic and falling off a cliff – winning seven straight matches in Melbourne.

GRAPHIC: Australian Open

Barty is the top seed for a reason – she’s been more consistent than any of them for the last year – but she seems set to arrive in Melbourne on Saturday with a stronger sense of adventure than authority. She needs to get a few things in order: the first serve percentage and the two-handed backhand. The latter is so rusty she almost needs to lock it in the garage for a couple of weeks.

She’s been rather defensive and tentative in the first set against Collins. Unforced errors have been a killer. Her serve has gone missing, only to return when needed. A slow start is never the end of the world for her. On no less than 15 occasions last year, she’s recovered from a first-set deficit to win in three, a testament to her fighting character and ability to think her way out of trouble.

Most players have one mode. Barty has the smarts and variation for Plans B, C, D, or E.

Hat, red. Shoes, red. Code, red, after the first set. The win becomes a good one, maybe the one she needs. A walk in the Melbourne Park next week? Barty is one of a handful of Australian Open contenders. She is no more, and no less, than that.