Australian great Evonne Gulagong said Ash Barty's Wimbledon win on Saturday made him more emotional than his victory at the Grasscourt Major 50 years ago.
Barty has been a woman on a mission at the All England Club this year and exemplary trailblazer Goolagong, with whom she shares Indigenous Australian heritage, stunned Karolina Pliskova 6-3 6-7 (4) 6-3 in a nervous over center defeated in the final. Court.
In a video released by Tennis Australia on Sunday, Gulagong said, "I never really saw myself playing for years until I showed one of my movies to some of the kids in my national Indigenous camp. Watching Ash for me was more emotional."
"Everyone reacts differently when they win Wimbledon for the first time. It didn't hit me afterward, because you go numb. You're in shock, like Ash was at the end.
"We were so excited. Now I see the other side of it... my family, how they were when they saw me win. They were jumping, crying, screaming... Exactly what we Was doing."
Wearing a scalloped-edged dress in the style of Goolong's 1970s kit, Barty said after his victory that he hoped he made his idol proud.
"She certainly did. She made me proud to see her for the first time," Gulagong said.
"She must have been about 13 years old playing at the Australian Open. [my husband] Roger and I looked around a bit and we saw a whole point that she had all the skills.
"She sliced, volleyed, smashed, everything... and we both looked at each other and said 'She got it, she's going to be our next champion. Now look at him... I remember not watching tennis until Roger Federer came along, because he had all the skills... just magical. I thought it wouldn't be great if a young girl who could play like that came along and Ash... she never looked back."
Gulagong said it was "wonderful" that Barty won her first Grand Slam title at the French Open in 2019, replacing her first Major in 1971.
"One of the last messages I sent to Ash was 'Dreams do come true and it will come true for you.' I felt very confident," Gulagong said.
"I am very proud of Ash and the way she handles herself. Not only on the court but off the court as well. She is a great Australian, everyone loves her," Gulagong said.
"Ash is like a little sister to me and a part of my family and we treat each other like that... it's magical when you achieve your dream... I'm sure it It's magical to him."