"Australian Tennis Championship" .. Barty returns the title to her country after 44 years

Ashleigh Barty became the first Australian to win the Australian Open in tennis 44 years, by winning the Women's Singles title today in Melbourne against surprising American Daniel Collins 6-3 7-6 (7-2).

Chris O'Neill, who was in the crowd, was the last Australian to be crowned on home soil in 1978.

This is Barty's third big title (25 years) on a different ground, after Roland Garros dirt in 2019 and Wimbledon grass in 2021, to join American Serena Williams, the only active player currently crowned on three different surfaces.

After winning the first set at Rod Laver Arena, the world number one was on her way to losing the second after a sweeping lead of Collins, ranked 30th in the world, with a score of 5-1, but Barty's ferocity brought her back into the atmosphere to decide the set with a tiebreaker (Tay Break), the match and the tournament.

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