Ashleigh Barty becomes the first Australian to win an Australian Open singles title since 1978 after beating Danielle Collins

Ashleigh Barty became the first Australian to win an Australian Open singles title since 1978 after beating grand slam final debutante Danielle Collins 6-3 7-6 in Saturday’s final.

The world No. 1 was absolutely prevailing all through the competition and secured a historic title without dropping a set. The world No. 1 and crowd favorite capped off a predominant fortnight at Melbourne Park, conquering American 27th seed Danielle Collins 6-3, 7-6(2) on Rod Laver Arena, to secure her home Slam without dropping a solitary set.

After wrapping up an agreeable first set in only 32 minutes, Ashleigh Barty found herself in a 1-5 hole when Danielle Collins started to apply her trademark aggression and furious groundstrokes toward the start of the second frame. Be that as it may, Barty had the option to rally and roll out four sequential games to rapidly draw level at 5-5 and heap the strain back on her 28-year-old rival.

The set would ultimately require a tie-breaker and Barty showed nerves of steel to win seven of nine points, letting out a roar of fervor after striking her 14th forehand winner on championship point.

Australian tennis fans needed to wait more than four decades for one of their own to be crowned Australian Open champion, with the last home success coming courtesy of Chris O’Neil.

Chris O’Neil, the last Australian to win a singles title at the Australian Open, delivered the Daphne Akhurst Trophy to Rod Laver Arena before the match. Yet, it was a mentor and fellow Australian tennis extraordinary Evonne Goolagong Cawley, who won the competition four back-to-back times between 1974-77, who introduced it to Barty after her victory.

Ashleigh Barty, 25, has now won three of the four major trophies and is an ideal 3-0 in the Slam finals.

Her maiden Grand Slam title came at the French Open in 2019 where she defeated Marketa Vondrousova in straight sets. Last year Barty added Wimbledon to her resume with triumph throughout two-time competition champion Karolina Pliskova.

Ashleigh Barty’s grand slam tally presently remains at three – – her past titles coming at the French Open in 2019 and Wimbledon in 2021 – – and the 25-year-old is for certain right now the most prevailing force on the women’s tour.

With the majority of her career probably still in front of her, the main inquiry staying around Barty’s grand slam credentials is: what number?

“I’ve said numerous times I’m so lucky tonight to have numerous people here that love and support me,” Ashleigh Barty said in her post-match interview. “I’m a fortunate and lucky girl to have so much love in my corner, we started together right from the start. We did it all together, nobody has changed from our team. I love you to death.

“As an Aussie, the most important part of this tournament is being able to share it with so many people and the crowd, you have been nothing short of exceptional.

“This crowd is one of the most fun I’ve ever payed in front of and you guys brought me so much joy today and helped me play my best tennis, so thanks for all your love and support over the last couple of weeks.

“This is a dream come true for me and I am so proud to be an Aussie. See you next time.”

Blistering start

Neither one of the players gave any indications of nerves in the opening stages and traded a few blistering shots early on.

Danielle Collins’ trademark backhand was causing Ashleigh Barty a wide range of issues, with the Aussie attempting to contain the strong groundstroke as it tore through the Rod Laver court.

In any case, Ashleigh Barty had the option to react on her own serve, crushing a mid 181km/h expert past her adversary as she managed to save an early break point – – likely arousing a lot of joy for the group.

The partisan home help was positively showing its allegiances almost immediately, emitting each time Ashleigh Barty won a point. They were then truly given something to cheers in Collins’ third service game, as two or three free groundstrokes and a wild double fault gifted Barty a break of serve.

That surely helped release any strain Ashleigh Barty was all the while feeling, as the home favorite ripped off two additional holds of service to claim the opening set quickly. Indeed, even Danielle Collins’ arrival at the final is one of the most exceptional rebound stories in tennis.

In April last year, she went through crisis surgery for endometriosis – – a condition where the tissue that lines the uterus becomes outside of it – – and had experienced an abdominal injury at the French Open.

The 28-year-old has spoken sincerely about the unbearable aggravation she endured, depicting it as some of the most terrible she has experienced.

Danielle Collins has credited the surgeon for saving her career and she’s currently playing some of the best tennis of her life, with her run to the final in Melbourne projected to push her into the world’s top 10 for the first time.

Tremendous credit should go to the player for staying unperturbed that a nearby opening set had moved away from her so rapidly.

The American frequently wears her heart on her sleeve on the court, yet had up until this point kept her feelings hidden on the greatest event of her career.

Yet again nonetheless, that changed toward the beginning of the second set as Barty battled with her adversary’s strong shots, which currently appeared to have somewhat really stung.

Two strange errors from Barty in her opening service game of the set permitted Collins to break for the first time in the match.

Rod Laver’s field fell to a great extent quiet, save for Collins’ roar. “Come on,” she shouted, fist clenched towards her box.

It had been a seriously exceptional change in momentum from the opening set, with Danielle Collins currently overwhelming pretty much every rally.

The crowd, detecting Ashleigh Barty’s nerves, did their best to get her back into the match; one forehand winner down the line was welcomed with maybe the most intense cheer of the night up to this point.

Be that as it may, it wasn’t to the point of getting Barty back on track as the size of the event presently appeared to be weighing vigorously on her.

The forehand was becoming wild and whimsical and Collins tracked down one more break of serve to apparently put the set out of her adversary’s reach.

However, Ashleigh Barty, the fighter that she is on the court, combat back and recuperated one of those breaks of serve, before firing off a love service game to pile the tension back onto Collins.

It was pressure Danielle Collins couldn’t deal with as her first serve and normally trusty backhand deserted her, giving Barty a second break of serve.

The Rod Laver field, which had been stifled for the vast majority of the second set, emitted and was presently stronger than it had been throughout the evening.

At a certain point, Danielle Collins appeared to be unhappy with some individuals in the group who had started shouting before the points were finished, leading the umpire to caution those in participation about their lead.

Barty held serve to even out the scores at 5-5 and what resembled 20 minutes prior would have been a walkover set for Collins had now transformed into a slugfest.

The two players put in strong service games to take the set to a tie break, however, Collins has probably been wishing those first serves had come two or three games prior.

Barty raced into a 4-0 lead in the tie break and never looked like losing it from that point, in the long run finishing it off 7-2 – – and it was presently party time on Rod Laver.

After waiting 44 long years, Australia once again has its own grand slam singles champion.

Ashleigh Barty joins Serena Williams as the only active women’s player to have succeeded in at least three distinct majors and the season-ending WTA Finals.

She’s likewise now in a group of five, including Williams and the men’s Big Three – – Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic – – as active players to have won a major title on every one of the three surfaces.

Barty will likewise pocket AU$2,875,000 (US$2,009,000) for winning the competition.

It was a wonderful fortnight for Ashleigh Barty who won 14 back-to-back sets on the way to the title, just dropping four games in a set on two events. Her 30 games conceded in a rush to an Australian Open title is the least since Steffi Graff 33 years prior.