Ash Barty told to enjoy the moment before US Open campaign

Ash Barty encouraged to enjoy the moment before embarking on campaign towards US Open.

Todd Woodbridge reckons Ash Barty has the perfect game to contend at the US Open. Picture: AP

On the morning Ash Barty left Wimbledon for Australia, former doubles champion Rennae Stubbs had a simple message for her.

“I texted her and said, ‘Please enjoy this moment’,” Stubbs said.

“We should be really proud in Australia that we have her as our flag-bearer. We have not only a superstar, but one who deserves our appreciation and being proud of.

“She is going to love going home, getting the adulation, getting to spend time with her dogs, playing some golf, all that sort of stuff.”

There had been significant hope in Australia that the Queenslander might be shooting for her second grand slam in succession in tonight’s Wimbledon final.

Ultimately, a 15-match winning streak came to an end when she was beaten by inspired American Alison Riske in a tough three-set match in the fourth round.

To emphasise just how strong that formline is, the 29-year-old American then came out and stretched Serena Williams to the limit in a high-class quarter-final.

Williams has been in devastating form in the second week of Wimbledon and will tonight seek to match Margaret Court’s record of 24 grand slam titles when she plays Simona Halep.

But Stubbs and compatriots Mark Philippoussis and Todd Woodbridge are among those hoping Barty is now able to celebrate properly a phenomenal European swing.

After partnering Victoria Azarenka to the Italian Open doubles crown, the 23-year-old famously claimed the Roland Garros title and then seized the world’s top ranking with another success in Birmingham.

Philippoussis, the former Wimbledon and US Open finalist who won two Davis Cups for Australia, described Barty’s rise to the top of the tennis world as remarkable.

“It is incredible,” he said.

“Her story, her rise from only a couple of years when she was not even playing tennis and playing cricket and she felt like she just needed to get away, that was the best thing that ever happened to her.

“Now that she has come back, she is improving every month in every event and to rise to No 1 in the world and be a grand slam winner is an amazing story.”

A Wimbledon semi-finalist in singles, Woodbridge said the latest chapter in Barty’s story is an important one in her development as she comes to grips with where she sits in the pecking order of world tennis.

“She needs a rest. There is no doubt. She has to learn how to manage her time,” he said.

“Her life changed in the last month, more than she ever probably thought that it would, but I think she has the mindset to be able to handle it.

“She seemed to have enjoyed it. It hasn’t been a burden, and that is the most important thing, that she actually enjoys being as good as she has become, because she can then achieve more and I think she will achieve more.

“She can freshen up, rest up and then get ready for the US Open where she can use all the confidence, all the match wins and the aura she has built over the past six months. I think she will have a really good shot there.”

The trio are confident Barty, who will return to the tour in the Canadian Open next month as the world’s No 1 player, will continue to contend at grand slam level.

Woodbridge proved prescient when tipping her to win the French Open.

And although Barty is a junior Wimbledon champion, the doubles legend actually believes her best tennis will come on the hard courts at Flushing Meadows and also on clay given the weaponry she possesses.

“I look at Ash and I think, for her, I would assume it is important to, let’s call it, not be a one-slam wonder and be a contender every time we turn up and she will be because of the quality of her game,” he told The Weekend Australian.

“I think that is important for her to think about going and trying to win more of those slams.

“The US Open is a good one for her. Before the French, I spoke about the fact that I wouldn’t be surprised if she won that one because of the style where she could bounce the ball up a bit with the forehand, zip it down low with the slice and that doesn’t happen as much on the surface at Wimbledon as it does on the clay or at the US Open.

“I think the French and US are the ones that are better for her game style, even more so than the grass, because I think on the grass she needs that little bit extra height and a bit more pop on the ball with the flat shot, but she doesn’t play that way.”

Stubbs, who claimed six grand slam titles in doubles and mixed during her career and was in the players’ box for some of close friend Steffi Graf’s biggest triumphs, is looking forward to watching Barty as she continues to mature and improve.

“Going forward, I have no problem thinking that this girl is here to stay on the big stage,” she said.

“I think that the Australian public and tennis fans should be really excited about her prospects. There is no doubt in my mind that she can win another one, if not many more.

“You never want to put the pressure on someone by saying that, but I think the bottom line is with Ash, I think she ran into a mental wall at Wimbledon. That was just an indicator about being mentally a little bit tired.

“She has got an amazing team around her and she is only going to get better and better .”