Australian Open women’s title: Ash Barty defeats Danielle Collins
Ash Barty of Australia has defeated Danielle Collins of the United States to win the women’s title at the Australian Open in Melbourne.
The match ended at about 11 a.m on Saturday, Nigerian time, with Ashleigh winning two sets- 6-3, 7-6. The second set was decided in a tiebreaker.
According to The Associated Press, Chris O’Neil was the last Australian to win the title, in 1978, and Wendy Turnbull was the last Australian to appear in the final, in 1980. Thus, the win by Ash Barty, which is her third major win, ended a 44-year drought for Australians at their home tournament.
The 25-year-old new women’s Australian Open champion has now won major titles on three surfaces such as the hardcourt at Melbourne, grass at Wimbledon in 2021, and clay at the French Open in 2019.
The win by the Australian player on Australian soil set off an immediate and loud celebration there.
After Barty won the first set, Collins stormed back to a 5-1 lead in the second set, only to see Barty catch up and defeat her in the tiebreaker for the championship.
Australian tennis legend Evonne Goolagong Cawley arrived at the court to participate in the trophy presentation ceremony.
The men’s final between Spain’s Rafael Nadal and Russia’s Daniil Medvedev will start at 9:30 a.m Sunday, Nigerian time.
