Melbourne: World No.1 Ashleigh Barty produced a clinical masterclass of ball striking and placement to beat Elena Rybakina 6-3, 6-here Friday and advance to the fourth round of the Australian Open tennis tournament.
With numerous fans wearing bright pink ‘Barty Party’ t-shirts in the stands of Rod Laver Arena supporting her, the 23-year-old Barty had relatively little trouble against the 20-year-old from Kazakhstan.
Neither was able to hold serve in the opening four games of the third round clash but once Barty held in the fifth game of the first set it was virtually one-way traffic from then on.
The Australian clinched the first set in 32 minutes and while Rybakina put pressure on her serve twice in the second set, Barty managed to win the critical points and advanced to a fourth round clash with either Alison Riske or Julia Goerges.
Barty needed just 78 minutes to dispose of the young Kazakh and said: “I felt I needed to be really switched on for this. I feel it’s the best I’ve played this summer so far. This is why I train and work so hard – to come out here, I’m loving every minute,” added the 23-year-old, who won the title in Adelaide before the Australian Open.
Rybakina, winner of the Hobart International in the week leading up to Melbourne, did not know how to respond and Barty’s power throughout the match.
Agencies