Australian star heads to New York fresh from dominant Cincinnati triumph

Ash Barty has recorded the most dominant triumph of her career by blitzing the field in Cincinnati.

Ash Barty is all smiles after claiming her fifth title for 2021 in Cincinnati

Ash Barty has become a master at finding neutral on the court, but her ability to find balance in an off-kilter world has enabled her to shine during a taxing 2021.

It seems remarkable given her dominance of an outstanding field in Cincinnati over the past week, but the world No.1 is feeling exhausted by the demands of an extended road trip.

Barty has now been on the road for five months and has another eight weeks — and perhaps more — to negotiate before returning to Australia to celebrate with her family.

The fatigue did not show on the court. The reigning Wimbledon champion defeated three grand slam winners to reach the final before outclassing Switzerland’s Jill Teichmann 6-3 6-1 in the final.

In an interview with the WTA Insider, Barty said she is embracing every opportunity and is delighted her deeds are inspiring others.

“It’s day 159. But no one’s counting, right? I can promise you I’m exhausted,” she said.

“One real energy booster for me this week was seeing all the young kids and seeing smiles on the kids’ faces when we were practising.

“There was one kid, on the very first day we practised, he was sitting behind the court and he turns to his dad and says, ‘Oh, I love watching Ash play. It is amazing how she hits a ball.’

“That’s cool to hear from a young kid who has come to a tournament, who loves tennis, who has probably been craving this tournament for two years.

“We’re here doing what we love and that’s all that matters. Go out there and have fun (and) remember there are kids that are having fun with you. That is something that really does lift me up.”

The young fan is clearly an astute judge. The 13th title of Barty’s career is also the most dominant of her career, with the Australian in stellar form from the third round onwards.

It is only the second time the Queenslander has managed to win a title without dropping a set, with the other occurring in Birmingham in 2019, a tournament that propelled her to No.1.

Barty dropped 34 games on the grass court that year, which was her first tournament following her maiden grand slam success at Roland Garros.

The Australian rebounded from an early singles loss in Tokyo — she claimed an Olympic bronze medal in mixed doubles — to drop just 29 games in the Masters tier tournament in Cincinnati.

The 25-year-old has furthered her stranglehold on the world’s top ranking and now boasts a staggering lead of more than 3000 points on her closest rival Aryna Sabalenka.

It ensures the Australian, who will start the US Open next week as the favourite, will hold the top spot through to the end of the year, which puts her in rare territory.

By the time the Australian Open begins, Barty will sit in fifth position in terms of consecutive weeks at No.1.

The only women in front of Barty, who has held the top spot for the past 83 weeks, by that stage will be legends Steffi Graf, Serena Williams, Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert.

She will be also be only the fifth woman to hold top spot at the end of a season for three years in succession.

Critics will argue an asterisk should be applied given the rankings freeze in 2020, but Barty’s consistent excellence this season indicates she would have held top spot regardless had she been able to play last year.

The dual-grand slam champion has won a women’s doubles title at the US Open but her best effort in singles to date came a couple of years ago when she reached the last 16.

But her form on hard courts at the highest tier on the WTA Tour is outstanding.

Aside from her success in Cincinnati, she is a dual-Miami Open champion and also claimed the WTA Tour Finals on the surface in China at the end of 2019.

Her coach Craig Tyzzer, who has been alongside Barty since they left Australia in early March, said after her Wimbledon triumph that her best surface was hard court.

Not surprisingly given her form, the Australian will arrive at Flushing Meadows confident she can produce her best effort to date at the US Open.

“We’re just excited we’ve got matches under our belt in tough conditions here in Cincy and that puts us in really good stead going into New York,” she said.

Super Squad ❤️#CincyTennis | @ashbartypic.twitter.com/OxaclGk8Lr

— Western & Southern Open (@CincyTennis) August 22, 2021