Barty Party: Ash Barty cracks World Top 10
Ash Barty has broken into the world’s top ten with a hard-fought victory against her Sydney International and Australian Open successor Petra Kvitova 7-6 (6), 3-6, 6-2 at the Miami Open.
Barty now joins fellow Queenslander Samantha Stosur as only the second Australian in the past decade to reach the top 10.
“[It feels] bloody good,” Barty said after her drought-breaking win. “No, I think it's been a goal of mine for a long time now. That's no secret. It's amazing what happens when you put your hopes and dreams out into the universe and do the work, you know? It's amazing.”
Barty needed nearly three hours to seal the victory during the evening session which was interrupted by rain delays.
“I had an opportunity last week that I wasn't able to grab, and this week was about coming here and continuing to try and trust the process and enjoy the journey that I'm on. It's a pretty beautiful thing being able to play tennis for a living.”
Meanwhile Petra Kvitova’s quest for the World No. 1 ranking has been put on hold. The World No. 2 was hampered by asthma in the latter stages of the match, but it was Barty's resilience which helped her through.
“It was important for me to try and take Petra's serve away from her as much as possible,” Barty added. “She's got an absolute world-class serve.”
“At times it was still out of my control, but I tried to do the best I could and tried to get into as many service games as I could, and I thought I did that really well tonight.”
"Petra is someone I respect probably most on tour, she is an absolute champion, a lovely girl and she has always made time for me ever since I was very young on the tour.”
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2HSVDV8
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