Jil Teichmann: Ashleigh Barty is an exceptional No. 1

Wild card Jil Teichmann felt a bit disappointed she didn't serve better against Ashleigh Barty but noted that the Australian is an "exceptional No. 1." 

Teichmann, who stunned Naomi Osaka and Karolina Pliskova en route to making the Cincinnati Masters final, stood no chance against Barty. 

Barty, seeded at No. 1, cruised past Teichmann 6-3 6-1 to win her fifth title of the season. 

The two players were all tied at three games apiece in the first set before Barty went on to claim four consecutive breaks and won eight games in a row to open a 6-3 5-0 lead. 

Barty had a great chance to finish the match on a nine-game run but Teichmann got one break back in the sixth game of the second set. 

Unfortunately for Teichmann, getting one break back didn't change much as Barty claimed her fifth break of the match in the seventh game of the second set to book a straight-set win. 

"I didn't serve very good, so that's the only thing I'm, like, Okay, what if I would have served out better like I did this week and put her into more problems?" Teichmann wondered, per WTA Insider.

"But Ash is a really, really complete player. She's an exceptional No.1. I really have to say that."

Barty also spoke positively of Teichmann 

"To Jil, what a week, mate. This is your level, this is where you belong," Barty said. 

Barty lost her serve six times over five matches in Cincinnati.

"Even though that’s not necessarily my repertoire all the time, I felt like I wanted to push myself this week to try and be more assertive on my serve," Barty revealed. 

Barty claimed her main focus in Cincinnati was to prepare as the best she could for the US Open.

"This week it was completely non result-focused. It was about preparing in the best way possible, knowing that we wanted to be ready for New York in a couple weeks' time," Barty claimed. 

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3zeIBcg