Australian Open 2019: Ash Barty blows golden opportunity

After blowing a golden opportunity in her Australian Open semi-final on Thursday, Ash Barty tried desperately to put the loss into perspective.

Ash Barty after going down to American Sofia Kenin in the Australian Open semi-final. Picture: Getty Images

After blowing a golden opportunity in her Australian Open semi-final on Thursday, Ash Barty tried desperately to put the loss into perspective.

The world No 1’s dream of ending a local drought dating back to Chris O’Neil’s triumph in 1978 was dashed by American Sofia Kenin 7-6 (6) 7-5.

As Barty acknowledged afterwards, what makes the defeat even more disappointing is that she was in a position to win both sets but was unable to deliver on critical points.

The 23-year-old arrived for her post-match press conference cradling her niece Olivia.

While clearly disappointed, she said the presence of her family as she walked off the court made the loss easier to swallow. She didn’t say the loss stung, but that was self-evident.

The French Open champion led the first set tiebreaker 6-4, only for her 21-year-old rival to reel off four points in succession.

Having not faced a single break point, Barty held two second set points, only to drop her final two service games of the match as Kenin surged into her first grand slam final.

“I kind of felt like I was scrapping and trying to find what I wanted to do best and (I) came within a couple of points of winning the match,” Barty said.

“Sometimes it falls your way. Sometimes it doesn’t. That’s just sport. That’s life.”

Given the burden of expectation surrounding Barty, there was a deflating feeling at Melbourne Park in the immediate aftermath of the loss.

Hopes rose as Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka and Karolina Pliskova were beaten early in Melbourne and Barty was installed as tournament favourite.

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That still left some outstanding women in the draw including Kenin, who ended the run of teenage sensation Coco Gauff in the fourth round.

Barty had beaten her in three of their four meetings during a stellar 2019, but each occasion was tight. And so it proved again.

On Thursday, Kenin confused the Australian. Peers say the American has an ability to neutralise the weapons of her rivals.

Changes of pace can be off-putting and Barty never looked completely comfortable, even though she was ahead on many statistical categories for almost the entire match.

Her first plan did not work. Nor did plan B. And as for plan C? Well, the Queenslander opted against detailing her strategy publicly.

“I’m not going to tell you all my secrets,” she said. “I try and go out and play the way I want to play. If it doesn’t work, I know I have different tools I can go to.

“I tried to go to those tools today. Unfortunately (I) couldn’t quite scrap enough to get over the line.”

Barty paid tribute to her rival, saying Kenin clearly deserved to be in the top 10, something that will become official on Monday regardless of the result of the final.

“I have to give credit where credit’s due. Sofia came out and played aggressively on those points and deserved to win,” she said.

“She deserves that respect and she deserves the recognition. She’s played an exceptional tournament. She’s had an exceptional last 12 months.”

Despite the dashed dream, positives can still be taken from the summer, Barty said.

The Brisbane resident claimed a maiden tournament on home soil in the Adelaide International. She took another step forward in Melbourne, reaching the semi-finals for the first time.

Barty leaves Melbourne with a firm grasp on the number one ranking. She has pocketed more than $1.3 million in prizemoney for her success in Adelaide and her Australian Open run.

Grand slam tournaments are extremely difficult to win. The next challenge for Barty at this level is another new one: defending a grand slam title for the first time.

She has vowed to learn from her experiences throughout the past fortnight in Australia.

“I won’t wait a year to put those into practice. I’ll put those into practice next week,” she said.

“The next time I walk out on court, the next time I kind of wake up in the morning, every experience you need to learn from. I’ve done that.

“I feel like as a team we’ve grown. We’ve enjoyed every single minute. I mean, (I) can’t wait to get started for kind of the rest of the year.

“I feel like it’s going to happen pretty quickly and we’re going to be back sitting at this table with an Australian summer next year.”