Ash Barty defeated Danielle Collins in an enthralling final to cap a supreme Australian Open campaign with a maiden title in her home grand slam.
Barty was made to work hard for her success by unlikely finalist Collins and had to come from 5-1 down in the second set to prevail 6-3 7-6 (7-2) on Rod Laver Arena.
It was to the delight of a partisan Melbourne crowd, who saw an Australian triumph in a singles event at the season's first major for the first time since Chris O'Neil in 1978.
Barty, who has now won 11 matches in a row in 2022, clinched her third grand slam title at the first opportunity, a sublime cross-court forehand sealing a sensational triumph.
Barty had offered the first sign of nerves and had to save the match's first break point with a brilliant forehand winner before recovering to hold.
Yet she turned the tables in the next game, Collins tensing up and conceding the first break when she sent two serves long.
With the crowd behind her, Barty got into her groove, holding with ease before two fantastic forehands paved the way for her to serve out the set.
Barty seemed primed to take the match away from Collins in the second set, yet the top seed was stunned as she slumped to a 3-0 deficit.
Having conceded serve for just the second time in the tournament, Barty squandered two immediate chances to break back, Collins coming out on top in a thrilling rally.
There were more fist pumps from Collins as she held to go 4-1 up. A brilliant passing shot gave Barty hope in the next game, but she rushed a volley and followed with a double fault to hand her opponent two break points.
Collins took the first to put herself on the brink of restoring parity, only for Barty to rally back with a break of her own and start a quite sensational comeback.
Having held for 6-3, Barty appeared to have left herself too much to do when she went 30-0 down on Collins' next serve but reeled off four straight points to send the crowd into raptures before levelling the set with a fine hold.
Collins needed to regain her composure and did so to reach the tie-break, but a foreland long put Barty in control, and the crowd were on their feet after a volleyed winner made it 4-0.
Collins struck the net and then missed the court to grand Barty four championship points, and the comeback was complete with her slick forehand.
DATA SLAM: Barty's home run
The first Australian woman since 1980 to reach the final of this major, Barty became the first woman to win a grand slam title in her home country since Sloane Stephens triumphed at the 2017 US Open.
She is also the first woman ranked world number one to lift the trophy since Serena Williams in 2015, ending a run of top-ranked players losing the Australian Open final, after Simona Halep in 2018 and Serena Williams in 2016.
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Barty – 30/22
Collins – 17/22
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Barty – 10/3
Collins – 1/2
BREAK POINTS WON
Barty – 3/5
Collins – 2/4
Andy Murray determined to show he remains among the elite on grass courts
Andy Murray believes he remains among the elite grass-court players after he began his Wimbledon preparations with a comfortable victory over Chung Hyeon in the first round of the Surbiton Trophy.
Less than seven miles separate the Surbiton Racket and Fitness club and the courts of SW19 and Murray’s journey started with a 6-3 6-2 win as he attempts to be seeded in the men’s single draw next month.
The two-time Wimbledon champion skipped the French Open to focus on his grass season and this was his first match in preparation for the All England Club, where the championships get under way on July 3.
The 36-year-old is ranked 43rd and needs to climb around 10 places to be seeded for Wimbledon where Murray believes he will remain a difficult opponent for anyone.
Asked if he is in the top 10 players in the world on his favourite grass surface, Murray replied: “Yes, I think so.
“It is hard to put numbers on it like that but yes, I would fancy myself against a lot of them.
“Last year I won against (Nick) Kyrgios who made the final of Wimbledon, I won against (Stefanos) Tsitsipas – it is probably not his favourite surface but he is one of the best players in the world.
“I was a set all with (Matteo) Berrettini – who is quite clearly in the top few grass-court players – in the final of Stuttgart before I hurt my abs.
“I’m playing better this year than I was last year but it is kind of irrelevant if you say that you have to perform and win the matches on the court and it is up to me to show that in the next four or five weeks.”
That five-week push to Wimbledon began against Chung, with Murray hitting his stride early on to ease past the South Korean, whose own injury issues have limited his progress in recent years.
There were also signs of the vintage Murray – arguing more than one line call with the umpire and chuntering away to himself when missing shots he felt should have landed.
A brief collective holding of breath from the small crowd followed Murray taking a tumble over an advertising board at the start of the second set but he dusted himself off to finish the job at hand before insisting he cannot start thinking about what is required to be seeded at Wimbledon and instead needs to remain focused on his game.
“I still want to win, I want to compete and see how hard I can push my body,” added Murray, who made the semi-finals in Surbiton last year.
“The operations I had, I was told I might be able to play again so I just want to see how far I can go.
“I’ve got up to 41 in the world and I believe I can go higher than that. Obviously I did well here (Surbiton) and in Stuttgart last year and I think I need about 300 points (to be seeded) so I will have to do well the next few weeks if I want to do that.
“If I have a good tournament at Queen’s, if you make the final or win the tournament there then I would be seeded, but I need to just concentrate on the performances.
“If you starting just thinking about points it is not necessarily the best way to look at things. I will just try and win as many matches as possible and see if I can get in there.”
Andy Murray eases to victory over Chung Hyeon in Surbiton Trophy first round
Andy Murray’s bid to be seeded for the men’s singles draw at Wimbledon began with a convincing victory over Chung Hyeon in the first round of the low-key Surbiton Trophy.
Less than seven miles separate the Surbiton Racket and Fitness Club and the courts of SW19 but Murray’s journey has started with a 6-3 6-2 victory in the sunshine.
The two-time Wimbledon champion skipped the French Open to focus on his grass season and this was his first match in preparation for next month.
Murray, 36, is currently ranked 43rd and needs to climb around 10 places to be seeded for Wimbledon, looking to build on his clay-court victory at Aix-en-Provence Challenger earlier this year – his first title since 2019.
The Surbiton Trophy is another Challenger event and gave Murray a chance to get into his stride against his South Korean opponent.
Chung reached the Australian Open semi-finals in 2018, beating Novak Djokovic en route, but has struggled with his own fitness issues in recent years.
A fine ace in the third game was the first glimpse of Murray ratcheting up through the gears and his first break followed a game later.
The gulf between the pair began to show as the opening set progressed, Murray taking it 6-3 with his fifth ace.
There were also signs of the vintage Murray – arguing more than one line call with the umpire and chuntering away to himself when missing shots he felt should have landed.
A brief collective holding of breath from the small crowd followed Murray taking a tumble over an advertising board at the start of the second set but he dusted himself off to take the game on his fourth break point courtesy of a double-fault from Chung.
Largely untroubled on his own serve, Murray – a semi-finalist in Surbiton 12 months ago – broke for a second time in the seventh game and wrapped up a comfortable win.
Alfie Hewett adapting to his new status as the man to beat in wheelchair tennis
Alfie Hewett is enjoying being the man to be shot at in wheelchair tennis as he prepares to bid for a fourth French Open title.
The retirement at the beginning of the year of Hewett’s big rival Shingo Kunieda after one of the great tennis careers left the Norfolk player as world number one.
Hewett first won the French Open as a teenager and has been used to being the relative new kid on the block but now he finds a host of younger players challenging him.
View this post on InstagramTop of that pile is Kunieda’s Japanese compatriot, 17-year-old Tokito Oda, who was beaten by Hewett in the Australian Open final in January.
Hewett told the PA news agency: “It is strange. I’m 25 so I don’t see myself as being the experienced one when you have the likes of Gordy (doubles partner Gordon Reid) and some of the others who are five to 10 years older than me.
“But I guess this is my eighth year on tour so I do have experience. I’ve been fortunate enough to play in some big moments and I thought the Australian Open final demonstrated that, managing the occasion probably in a better way than Tokito did, but he’s such an unbelievable talent.
“To be playing at his level at (his age), it’s just ridiculous – it just shows the talent and the potential that he has. And he’s bringing a new style to the sport as well. Other players are having to learn, having to get better.
“I see a lot of myself in him in terms of his attitude and his fearlessness. It’s great to have someone fresh on the scene. I’m sure he’s going to be winning a lot in the future but I’ll try and stop him.
“That’s a big reason why my level this year has been so high because he beat me in the Masters last year and I didn’t like it. I went home and I trained hard and I worked hard and it’s made my game a lot better.”
Hewett’s Australian Open triumph was part of a 16-match winning singles run between January and March that brought his four successive titles.
“I didn’t expect it,” he said. “It’s just a sign of good work behind the scenes. It was new territory for me really. I struggled towards the end of it.
“It makes me appreciate the likes of Novak (Djokovic) and (Daniil) Medvedev when they go on ridiculous runs of not losing for however many matches and back-to-back events – it’s not easy to do.
“You feel the pressure that people are expecting you to win. The level I was playing at in Australia and Rotterdam was probably the best I’ve ever played but then I went to the States and it dropped, and I was like, ‘Hang on a minute, I’m not used to this, why’s my level not where it was’.
“But that’s just normal, you go through these periods. I enjoyed it while it lasted. I got beaten in the end but it hasn’t dampened my spirit with where I’m at. To win eight titles out of 11 is not bad.”
Since the end of that run, Hewett has led Great Britain to the World Team Cup title before a narrow loss to Spain’s Martin De la Puente, another younger player, in the semi-finals of the Barcelona Open.
In Paris, he will be favourite to add to the singles titles he won in 2017, 2020 and 2021, while he and Reid will bid for a 17th grand slam doubles title.
After that, Hewett’s focus will turn to Wimbledon, where he made his first singles final last year only to lose a dramatic encounter to Kunieda.
“Of course it’s one I want to win, there’s no secret,” he said. “I can’t sit here and lie. But the goal for now is the French and trying to get as strong and fit and healthy as I can.”
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