Ash Barty will lean on the tough lessons that Wimbledon has taught her over the years when she tackles Karolina Pliskova on Centre Court in the women's final.
A decade has slipped by since a 15-year-old Barty won the girls' singles title, and now she and Pliskova will do battle for the Venus Rosewater Dish.
Saturday's final is a clash of the player with the most aces on the women's tour this year (Barty: 255) and the tournament leader for that metric (Pliskova: 54).
Pliskova will likely be a tough nut to crack, having won 57 of her 61 service games for a 93 per cent strike rate, with the Czech the only player in the draw above 90 per cent in that crucial component.
Both players will be making their debut in a Wimbledon women's singles final, the first time that has happened at the All England Club since 1977, when Virginia Wade beat Betty Stove.
World number one Barty will become just the fourth player in the Open Era to win both girls' and women's singles titles at Wimbledon should she get the job done, after Ann Jones, Martina Hingis and Amelie Mauresmo.
It has been quite a journey to this point for the Australian, who after her early impact in the game stepped away from tennis for almost two years after the 2014 US Open. She played Big Bash League cricket and only returned to tennis at Eastbourne in 2016, gradually ascending to the summit and winning the 2019 French Open title for a maiden senior grand slam.
There have been painful defeats along the way on grass, her favourite surface, including a loss to Daria Kasatkina in the third round in 2018 and to Alison Riske from a set up in the fourth round a year later.
Barty was the top seed at that edition of Wimbledon in 2019, as she is this year, and there is no doubt she would be an exciting champion, a player who seems to only bring positivity to tennis, albeit she pointed to some bleak moments in her past ahead of the tussle with Pliskova.
"I think Wimbledon for me has been an amazing place of learning," Barty said. "I think 10 years ago I came here for the first time as a junior and learned a lot in that week.
"Probably 2018, 2019 was some of my toughest weeks playing. To come away with our losses in those two tournaments, I learned a hell of a lot from those two times.
"I think a lot of the time your greatest growth comes from your darkest times. I think that's why this tournament has been so important to me. I've learned so much with all my experiences, the good, bad, everything in between I've been able to learn from.
"Just to be able to keep chipping away, keep putting yourself out there, let yourself be vulnerable, just be yourself, knowing that everything that comes with that is an opportunity to learn. I think that's been a massive one for us this fortnight."
The first thing that was said to Barty in a news conference after she won the girls' title in 2011 was: "You're not a very demonstrative winner."
How this grounded Queenslander might react to winning on Saturday remains to be seen. Pliskova certainly has the weaponry to mean a Barty victory is far from a foregone conclusion.
Pliskova would be the fifth oldest first-time grand slam winner in the Open Era should she prevail, with the 29-year-old having previous experience of winning titles on grass at Eastbourne (2017 and 2019) and Nottingham (2016).
"It's a final. Anything can happen," Pliskova said of the Barty match-up. "I know she has a grand slam, but also for her it is the first Wimbledon final.
"I think we both have good chances. It's going to be hopefully a good match to watch as well because with her it's always interesting. We going to see what's going to happen.
"I never played a horrible match against her."
Pliskova and Barty have met seven times across their careers, starting from a minor ITF event in Nottingham in 2012, which went the Australian's way, the then 16-year-old edging a final-set tie-break.
Barty has also won their last three matches, reflecting her rise to the top and former world number one's Pliskova's slight career dip.
"Of course she makes you feel a bit ugly with the game which she's playing," Pliskova said. "Also I had, like, a lot of chances the last match we played. I think I had match point or was serving for the match. I know there's going to be many chances for me, as well."
That match took place in Stuttgart in April of this year and did indeed go close, Barty closing it out 7-5 in the deciding set of the quarter-final and going on to take the title. She has three tournament wins this year, a tour-high.
Barty is sure to stay at number one on Monday, a 77th consecutive week in the top spot and 84th overall in her career, while Pliskova can jump from 13th to fourth with the title. She will move to seventh should she be runner-up.
The red-hot favourite is Barty, but Pliskova is comfortable with that.
"You want to play the best player in the final," she said. "Of course, I don't want anybody else but her there."
Alcaraz downs Bagnis in Miami opener, Zverev knocked out by wild card
World number one Carlos Alcaraz wasted no time in advancing to the Miami Open third round with a straight-sets win over Facundo Bagnis in just 64 minutes, while 13th seed Alexander Zverev suffered an early exit on Friday.
Reigning US Open champion Alcaraz eased past Bagnis 6-0 6-2, firing 12 winners and three aces for the match, committing only 11 unforced errors.
The Spaniard won the first set in 24 minutes, marking the first time he has won an opening frame 6-0 at an ATP Masters 100 event. It was also the first bagel he has dished out since beating Bagnis in Umag last year.
"I knew that I needed to be focused for my first match," Alcaraz said after his win, having triumphed in Indian Wells last week. "To start a new tournament is never easy, different conditions.
"I have to be ready to get used to these new conditions, but I was really focused on the match from the beginning, and I'm happy with the way that I played. I try to improve every day."
Alcaraz will face Dusan Lajovic after he beat 30th seed Maxime Cressy 6-4 7-6 (7-2), having knocked off Andy Murray in the first round.
Zverev was the highest seed to bow out on Friday, going down 6-0 6-4 to Japan's Taro Daniel, who beat world number four Casper Ruud last month in Acapulco.
Daniel triumphed in 73 minutes against the German, hitting 17 winners and committing only two unforced errors for the match, while Zverev gave up 18.
The Japanese wild card will meet Emil Ruusuvuori in the third round after the Finn beat 22nd seed Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4 7-6 (7-5) to open up that section of the draw.
Third seed Ruud also had few problems getting past Ilya Ivashka 6-2 6-3 to set up a clash with Botic van de Zandschulp after his three-set win over Alexei Popyrin.
Sixth seed Andrey Rublev overcame J.J. Wolf 7-6 (7-3) 6-4, having been broken in the opening game of what was a tight contest.
Jannik Sinner beat Laslo Djere 6-4 6-2, marking his 16th win out of 20 appearances at the Sunshine Double (Indian Wells and Miami), with only three other players – Novak Djokovic, Alcaraz and Hubert Hurkacz – having as many wins within their first 20 matches.
Ninth seed Taylor Fritz defeated fellow American Emilio Nava 6-4 6-1, and will face Denis Shapovalov in round three after he beat Guido Pella 6-3 3-6 6-3.
American 16th seed Tommy Paul came from a set down to beat Marc-Andrea Huesler 5-7 6-3 6-4, while seventh seed Holger Rune beat Martin Fucsovics 6-3 7-5.
Jabeur, Garcia and Sakkari suffer shock Miami Open losses as Sabalenka eases through
Top 10 seeds Ons Jabeur, Caroline Garcia and Maria Sakkari were all eliminated in a day of upsets in the Miami Open second round on Friday.
Qualifier Varvara Gracheva earned her first career top-five win by beating 2022 Wimbledon and US Open finalist Jabeur 6-2 6-2 in only 67 minutes.
Fifth seed Caroline Garcia also crashed out, losing 6-2 6-3 to 74th-ranked Sorana Cirstea, having also recently beaten the Frenchwoman at Indian Wells.
Bianca Andreescu came from a set down to beat seventh seed Maria Sakkari 5-7 6-3 6-4 in a match that lasted over three hours.
Andreescu displayed some of the form that saw her lift the 2019 US Open title, fighting back from a set down and proving composed in the big moments.
The Canadian, who is ranked 31st, will take on 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in the third round.
Second seed Aryna Sabalenka had few problems against Shelby Rogers, winning 6-4 6-3 in one hour and 17 minutes. Sabalenka will next face 31st seed Marie Bouzkova.
The 2023 Australian Open champion has won 65 main draw matches in WTA-1000 events, which equals Marion Bartoli and Ashleigh Barty at the 30th place since 2009 for the most wins at this level.
Indian Wells winner Elena Rybakina beat Anna Kalinskaya 7-5 4-6 6-3, and Petra Kvitova eased past compatriot Linda Noskova 6-3 6-0.
Ninth seed Belinda Bencic dropped just two games as she cruised past Leylah Fernandez 6-1 6-1, and will face Ekaterina Alexandrova next as the 18th seed needed three to get past Taylor Townsend.
Veronika Kudermetova was eliminated by Marketa Vondrousova 6-4 6-2, who goes up against Karolina Pliskova in round three after she eased past Wang Xinyu in straight sets.
Sweden 0-3 Belgium: Lukaku hat-trick gets Tedesco tenure off to flying start
Romelu Lukaku scored a hat-trick as Belgium kicked off a new era under Domenico Tedesco with a 3-0 win over Sweden on Friday in their opening Euro 2024 qualifier.
The Red Devils replaced Roberto Martinez with Tedesco after exiting the World Cup at the group stage, while a number of big names also retired from international football.
Tedesco's tenure got off to a flying start at Friends Arena in Stockholm, where Lukaku's header and a close-range finish either side of half-time had the visitors in control.
Sweden brought on 41-year-old striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but Lukaku completed his treble in the 82nd minute to round off a comfortable victory.
Dejan Kulusevski almost gave Sweden the lead when his shot trickled towards goal after Thibaut Courtois got a hand to it, only for Wout Faes to clear off the line.
It was the visitors who opened the scoring 10 minutes before the interval when Dodi Lukebakio's right-sided cross was glanced in by the head of Lukaku.
The on-loan Inter striker doubled his tally with a tap-in from a yard out after Lukebakio burst into the box, got away from his man and once again picked out his team-mate.
Sweden struggled to ask any real questions of Courtois, despite the introduction of Ibrahimovic, and Lukaku made certain of the win when given a simple finish by Johan Bakayoko.
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