BIRMINGHAM–
Ashleigh Barty moved to within two wins of earning the World No.1 ranking for the first time after defeating five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams 6-4 6-3 in the quarterfinal match in Birmingham.
Venus made the first real move in the scoreboard, using her long levers on both the forehand and backhand to continue to remain a bit of a threat when defending the corners of the court, but she really did crumble gradually from that winning position. The American won four of the first five games, but then would go on to lose the next five to drop the set to a resurgent Barty.
Barty wasn’t having things all her own way as things clearly weren’t going according to plan in the opening exchanges, but she steadied her game nicely at the back end of the first set and improved the service numbers substantially in the second set. In the end Barty was able to find the length that she often seeks on the forehand side, and when that wing is firing on all cylinders it enables her to get up the court, dictate play and make sure that the American is doing all the leg work from the baseline. Venus ended up making a calamity of mistakes in the second set, the forehand looked problematic when put under enough serious pressure and she never looked likely to be able to retrieve things when they got out of control. Barty was struggling to begin with, but there was a distinct gulf in quality in the second set and she closed out the match phenomenally at the conclusion.
The American coughed up 28 unforced errors from the baseline and only put together 11 winners in full. The problem not only was the fact she was losing ground from the back of the court, but she was limited to what she could do in the forecourt. Barty’s backhand slice was effective in the sense that it continued to vary both in length and its reaction of the court and it took away the baseline rhythm that Venus was really craving.
Barty speaks on the win
“Oh, obviously I feel great. I feel like every match is getting a little bit better and better on the grass, and it’s just nice to give myself another opportunity to get on the grass courts and to play another singles match,” Barty said. “It’s always a privilege to play against a champion like Venus. She’s done incredible things for our sport. She’s inspired generations to pick up a tennis racquet. Any time you get to play against her, it’s a real privilege.
“Yeah, early on I gave her a few too many looks at second serves. When I had looks at second serves, I wasn’t able to make enough returns early on. That was a key component that I needed to try to fix up. Once I was able to do that, I felt like I was in control of most of the match. It was important to try and keep my foot on the pedal, because Venus can take games away from you pretty quickly.”
Barty detailed the key patterns of play she was looking for in order to get the upperhand in the matchup. It was something she learned along the way and then used it to the best of her ability in the second set in particular:
“Yeah, Venus has such a powerful game off both wings. Absolute world-class backhand she can put in either way, and it was important for me to try to get into her forehand as much as I could, because I think that forehand-to-forehand pattern was one that I wanted. Yeah, at times she can take the ball away from you pretty quickly. It was more about court positioning and where I put my ball.”
Barty has done very well in keeping her level to where it is despite playing with obvious pressure on her shoulders as she enters uncharted territory. There were some stages of both her first round and this quarterfinal clash where things certainly could have been better, but she’s taking care of business on the first serve, holding a good base level of play off the ground and taking most things in her stride in truth. The question is when the goal gets ever closer, will the Australian react positively or negatively as she realises what she really is about to achieve on a tennis court.
Main Photo from Getty
