Wimbledon: Ashleigh Barty out in 1st round battle

Ashleigh Barty has been bundled out of Wimbledon in straight sets, 7-5, 7-6, by Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina.

Ashleigh Barty reaches for a forehand during her first-round loss to Elina Svitolina at Wimbledon.

Ashleigh Barty’s fierce forehand created enormous trouble for the world’s fifth ranked player, Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina, before she was bundled out of Wimbledon in straight sets, 7-5, 7-6.

Barty, from Ipswich in Queensland, showed a poise and maturity beyond her short experience in the singles game, pushing Svitolina to a tie-break in the second set, and defending five match points, before losing 10-8.

Barty’s fierce defence and desperation across the court was in stark contrast to the sometimes petulant display by an injured Nick Kyrgios who had retired hurt on the same court earlier, and she had the support of the crowd who sensed that an upset may have been on the cards.

But Svitolina, who had a troubled ankle injury, has beaten players of the ilk of Serena Williams and Petra Kvitova and with her boyfriend, English cricketer Reece Topley, in the crowd, she was able to hold 21-year-old Barty at bay.

Intriguingly, Barty will be able to give Svitolina a few tips about cricket, a game the Ukrainian originally believed was curling when she first met Topley at a London gym.

For Barty has played in the Big Bash and attributes her season playing top class cricket in rediscovering a love for tennis. Since that sporting switch Barty — better known as the doubles partner of Casey Dellacqua — has come back with a stronger singles game, which included playing Kvitova in the finals of the Birmingham tournament last week.