Melbourne (AFP)
The world N.1 Ashleigh Barty was scared Monday for his entry into the Australian Open in front of his audience, abandoning the first set to the Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko (120th) before "tightening the screws" to very clearly take over 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 and thus reach the 2nd round.
The 23-year-old, who won her eighth title in her career last week in Adelaide, her first in Australia, regretted her first missed set.
"It was disappointing not to start as well as I would have liked. I was frustrated not to put the ball in the court as I wanted. I was aiming for big targets and I missed them largely, which me annoyed, "said Barty, satisfied to have" been able to tighten the screws in the 2nd set ".
"I just managed to place the ball better and I managed to destabilize (Tsurenko). In the first set, she was a little too much in her patterns for my taste," she added.
After winning her first Grand Slam title last year at Roland Garros, Ashleigh Barty made no secret of her excitement at playing in Melbourne as the world No.1.
"This is the moment I have been waiting for throughout the inter-season," she said after her victory.
In the next round, she will face the Slovenian Polona Hercog (48th) or the Swedish Rebecca Peterson (44th).
© 2020 AFP