Ash Barty got off to a perfect start in the Wimbledon final, scoring 14 points, then bidding a comeback on Saturday with a 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-3 win over Karolina Pliskova. Grand Slam title.
"It took me a long time to verbalize the fact that I dare to dream it and say I want to win this incredible tournament. ... I didn't get much sleep last night. I'm thinking That was what-ifs," said Barty. "But I think I kind of felt at home when I was coming out on this court."
Top seed Barty, who won the French Open in 2019, became the first Australian woman since Evonne Gulagong in 1980 to win a Wimbledon title. Barty said that she was inspired by goolong and wore a dress at Wimbledon that was a tribute. The dress of gulagong came into play when it won the tournament for the first time in 1971.
"Ivonne is a very special person in my life," Barty said. "I think she has been iconic in leading the way for young Indigenous youth to believe in their dreams and chase their dreams. She has done the exact same thing for me."
Eighth-seeded Pliskova did not win a single point in the first three games of the first set and then double-faulted at break point to give Barty a 4–0 lead. She eventually served first to take a 5-3 lead before Barty was out of the set.
"Terrible start," said Pliskova, a former No. 1, "that's why I'm so proud of the way [I found] that match."
In the first deuce game of the match, Barty broke Pliskova and conditions were dire in the second set before taking a 6-5 lead. But Pliskova broke back to force a tiebreaker - the first of a final since Venus and Serena Williams in 2009 - and then set the first deciding Wimbledon women's final since 2012, when Serena Williams defeated Agnieszka Radwanska.
Barty, who improved to 6–2 in career meetings with Pliskova, found her form again in the third set, running for a 3–0 lead before closing the match and championship on serve.
Both women were making their first appearance in the Wimbledon finals, the first time since 1977, when Virginia Wade defeated Betty Stowe. Until this year, neither Barty nor Pliskova had advanced past the fourth round of the grass-court major.
Pliskova was seeking her first Grand Slam title. She lost in the final of the US Open in 2016.
"I was fighting very hard to make it hard for him," said Pliskova, who choked during the trophy ceremony and told the Capacity Center Court crowd: "I never cry.
A junior champion at Wimbledon a decade ago, Barty left the tennis tour for nearly two years in 2014 due to burnout. He played professional cricket back home and eventually decided to return to his other sport.
good call.
"I wouldn't change a thing," Barty said of his visit. "I've learned so much throughout my life and throughout my career, I certainly won't change. I have no regrets. I won't change any of my experiences."
Saturday's match was played under cloudy skies and the retractable roof of the Center Court was open despite rain forecast for much of the afternoon. Due to the threat of rain, Barty and Pliskova shared a warm-up session under the roof on the No. 1 court earlier in the day, sometimes standing side by side while hitting shots.
They shared some smiles and chatter as they tossed the coin before the final, but once things got serious, Barty didn't seem to mess up once.
From the very beginning, there was no sign of restlessness or uncertainty for Barty. His strokes were reassuring. His behavior too. During the match-opening run, which saw her win 3-0, Love-30 and, at the end of Pliskova, 4-0 a few points after 11 minutes, Barty showed her versatility and varied skills.
She returned Pliskova's fast serve - who produced a tournament-high 54s as she entered Saturday - without a hitch. She lobbied Pliskova, who is 8 inches taller than 5-5 Barty at 6-foot-1, to win a point. He hit the winners with his heavy topspin forehand and set up the others with his shredded backhand. She threw an ace of her own and actually finished 7-6 with more than Pliskova.
"He didn't really miss much. He played everything very deep," Pliskova said. "I think it was hard for me to really play my game in that moment."
One key figure by the end: Barty won 22 of 31 points that lasted nine strokes or more.
As the balls passed over Pliskova, and the murmur peaked in the stand at full capacity - "What's going on? Is she going to win a point?" — she looked a little more in a way of reaction than a blank stare. At times, she toyed with the strings of her racket as if wanting to be somewhere else, later admitting "I didn't feel like I wanted to be there."
Pliskova's coach, Sasha Bajin, who had previously worked with Naomi Osaka and previously Serena Williams' hitting partner, sat in the guest box above a baseline, arms crossed and eyebrows raised.
Even after Pliskova straightened things out, the rhythm of the first set was strange: A total of six games were won by Love.
Pliskova finally got the measure of her stroke in the second set, in which she twice came out after the break.
"He dug deep," said Barty, "and found a way to get himself back in the match."
He could shake Barty, except she speaks out clearly that she should never let anything get her down, including the hip injury that ruled her out of the French Open this year and sent her to Wimbledon. prevented from his normal preparation.
And so, with her distinctive grit, Barty managed to get back into a stable version of herself under the stretch. When she got a second chance to serve it, Barty didn't budge, even when she had to see a break point.
A missed backhand by Pliskova removed that threat, and Barty then delivered the 108 mph ace. A final backhand miss from Pliskova ended the match, and Barty leaned over the baseline and covered her face with her arm.
“I was really proud of myself,” said Barty, who climbed onto the stands to hug her coach Craig Taizer and the others, “the way I was able to reset and just keep going, just chipping away. Stay tuned, but let's start that third set and hold my nerves there at the end."