Winners Barty, De Minaur wait on call from Wimbledon

Ash Barty and Alex De Minaur have anxious waits to see if they have impressed the All England Club.

Ash Barty shows her delight at securing the trophy in Nottingham. Picture: Getty Images.

After completing an Australian sweep in Nottingham yesterday, Ash Barty and Alex De Minaur have an anxious wait to see the extent to which their triumphs have impressed Wimbledon officials.

Barty’s star continues to rise. The Queenslander claimed the biggest title of her career when she beat Johanna Konta 6-3 3-6 6-4 in a tight final. The British former Wimbledon semi-finalist was left irate by a line call late in the match.

Playing in his fifth ATP Challenger final, De Minaur broke his maiden, beating former world No 41 Dan Evans 7-6 (4) 7-5.

The 19-year-old will learn later today whether his recent run of good form on grass is enough to earn him a wildcard into Wimbledon.

The Sydneysider showed significant mental strength against Evans, who has recently returned to the tour in good touch following a doping suspension for a positive test to cocaine.

De Minaur’s success followed a run to the final of a Challenger in Surbiton last week. The former junior Wimbledon finalist moved to a career-high ranking of 78 and is also well positioned to play in the Next Gen Championships in Milan in November.

But the rankings rise comes too late to earn direct entry into the All England Club event, as the cut-off for Wimbledon came just before the French Open.

As it stands, De Minaur needs two more withdrawals to earn a spot on his own merit but a wildcard would allow him to enter an ATP tournament in Eastbourne next week instead of playing Wimbledon qualifying at Roehampton.

He told RSN 927 yesterday: “I just have to wait until Tuesday, which is when they announce the wildcards, so hopefully I get in.

“The body was really feeling like (some time) off, so I will thoroughly enjoy that and have a couple of days of no tennis and hopefully, by Tuesday, get some good news that I have got into Wimbledon, which would mean that I would play at Eastbourne.”

Barty, who pocketed almost $60,000 when adding to the Nottingham title to her success in the Malaysian Open last year, moved back to a ranking of 16 after her win.

Wimbledon officials have the discretion to alter seedings for the tournament, but should they follow the rankings, it is an important jump for Barty as it provides her with additional protection from the elite until the fourth round.

But the wildcard is seven-time champion Serena Williams, who is almost certain to receive a high seeding despite sitting at 183 in the rankings in her comeback after becoming a mother.

On a discretionary basis, the Australian is worthy of a bump in seedings as well, given her grass court form and nous, but she risks being subjected to a more difficult draw as a result of Williams’ return to Wimbledon.

Not that Barty, a former junior champion at Wimbledon, was thinking about those ramifications as she celebrated her victory over a rival who toppled her in the quarter-finals of the Nottingham event 12 months ago.

“I knew that Jo was going to be the toughest test this week, so I am really glad I came through that and it was a high-quality match,” Barty said.

“And it was a really good grass court match too in the sense that it was a bit serve-dominant at times.

“Jo was a Wimbledon semi-finalist and she was a finalist here last year. She’s obviously very comfortable on this surface.

“I think it was the cherry on top for me to make it to the final and make it to the weekend.”

Konta, who was seeking to become the first Englishwoman since Sue Barker in 1981 to win a title on home soil, was upset by a line call in the final game of the match and berated the umpire.

“This is a joke. An absolute joke. You understand that you change the courses of matches,” she told the umpire. “We are out here busting our chops and you are making decisions that change our lives. Do you fully understand that?”

De Minaur will rest this week while other Australians are in action through Europe. Barty is due to face a qualifier in the opening round of a tournament in Birmingham.

Daria Gavrilova returns to the tour in the same event and will play Dominika Cibulkova, and Sam Stosur faces Marketa Vondrousova in Mallorca, where Ajla Tomljanovic is in qualifying.

John Millman qualified for Queen’s and will play Novak Djokovic, while Nick Kyrgios faces Andy Murray. In Halle, Matt Ebden will play Malek Jaziri.