Class on grass: Barty takes tough draw in her stride

Ash Barty knows she is playing world No 43 Zheng Saisai of China tomorrow night but hasn’t looked any further than that.

Ash Barty at Wimbledon yesterday as she prepares in her typically relaxed way for her first match as the world No 1. Picture: Getty Images

Reputations don’t mean much to Australia’s new world No 1, ­Ashleigh Barty.

While Australia fretted about her tough Wimbledon draw, Barty simply looked at her first-round opponent and moved on.

She never looks at the draw, never gets ahead of herself.

Barty will play world No 43 Zheng Saisai of China tomorrow night to open a campaign many expect will see her go deep into the second week.

But while Barty has drawn a star-studded top quarter of the draw, which includes four former world number ones and four Wimbledon champions, she is blissfully unaware of the ­reputations ahead of her.

“I haven’t looked at the draw. I mean, I’ve seen my first-round opponen­t,” Barty said. “Flicking through on social media, you see people that are in certain quarters. I couldn’t tell you where they are in any kind of direct way.

Ashleigh Barty at a practice session ahead of The Championships in Wimbledon. Picture: Getty Images

“To be honest, I never look at the draws. I look at my first-round opponent because that is the only thing I can worry about; it’s the only thing I can control. Ultim­ately, whatever happens in the rest of the draw is up to everyone else.”

Barty could face dual grand slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in the second round, 2017 Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza in round three and the in-form Croatian Donna Vekic in the round of 16.

It’s the first time Australia has had the pre-tournament favourite since Lleyton Hewitt’s unsuccessful title defence in 2003, when he was knocked out in the first round by Croatian giant Ivo Karlovic.

The last time an Australian woman went in as the No 1 seed was 1973, when Margaret Court lost in the semi-finals to American Chris Evert. It doesn’t pay to look at the seeds — or the odds.

Coach Craig Tyzzer will edit some data to present to Barty on the eve of her game, highlighting some of the issues she should be aware of. But both coach and player use the figures only to underpin their intuition. Tyzzer certainly doesn’t have his head in a laptop during the game and Barty is smart enough to know when to change her strategy mid-match.

“We look at it (the data) a little bit, but also knowing that when I play my best tennis I’m playing with a little bit of feel and trying to adapt as much as I can,” she said.

“There are certainly different analytics we look at to pick areas we want to target, whether it’s where I want to hit the ball or how I position myself on the court.

“There are only one or two key things that we think about each match and the rest is going out there and playing.’’

After reading the notes on the evening before a match, Barty said she would have a quiet night tonigh­t and then en route to the Wimbledon courts, just down the road from her rented house, she would have a couple of coffees.

“Depending on when I’m playing during the day, but usually, I will have a coffee or two and come to the courts. That’s about it.’’