Ashleigh Barty cools off worried fans after dodging early Australian Open exit

World number one Ash Barty avoided a premature first round eviction from the Australian Open after losing the opening set against Lesia Tsurenko while raising the pulse of the Australian crowd along the way. Fortunately for her fans, Barty pulled off a trademark comeback (5/7, 6/1, 6/1), settled down the spirits and looked more confident than ever at the post-match interview.

“Nah, it’s all good. It’s amazing to be back out here, it’s a tight turnaround from Adelaide but it was really nice to sort it out a bit more in the start of the second set.” Barty said.

The freshly crowned Adelaide queen thinks that everything was under control in the first set as well, even though she lost it and dropped her serve three times along the way.

“I think the first set was still in my control. It was a little bit about execution and I was just rushing a little bit trying to finish off points too early, so once I was able to get my physicality into it, I felt a lot more comfortable and I think I was able to look after my service games a little bit better and not get behind in this set (second), which is important.”, Ashleigh explained.

Barty made it up to the fans by thanking them for their amazing support that started right from the moment when she stepped on Rod Laver Arena.

“Absolutely incredible. This is probably the moment I’d been looking forward to the most. Through the off-season I couldn’t wait to walk out here on this beautiful court and play in front of so many people who give me so much love and support. It’s incredible, so thank you guys!”, Ash Barty concluded.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2Rzs8uB