Can Ashleigh Barty dominate the women’s game following her French Open victory?
Ashleigh Barty claimed her first major title when she defeated Marketa Vondrousova in the final of this year’s French Open, but with a further two majors to go, could this be just the start of a period of domination for the Australian?
In US Open tennis betting, Barty is priced at 15/2, some way behind the current favourite Serena Williams (3/1). These odds will certainly change if Barty can put in a good display at Wimbledon in July, but how realistic is it to assume Barty will be the next big star in the women’s game?
Australian Open
Since making her debut at the Australian Open in 2012, Barty struggled to progress past the first round, being eliminated at that stage in 2012, 2013 and 2014. She was absent for the 2015 and 2016 tournaments as she switched to cricket, but made a comeback to tennis in 2016 in time for Wimbledon where she could only reach the second qualifying round.
As a wildcard entry in the 2017 tournament, Barty defeated German Annika Beck and American Shelby Rogers to reach the third round, where she was defeated by German qualifier Mona Barthel.
2018 was a similar story for Barty, as she defeated Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus and Italian, Camila Giorgi. In the third round she came up against Japan’s Naomi Osaka, who was unseeded for the tournament. She lost in straights sets to the woman who went on to win the 2018 US Open and 2019 Australian Open.
A much-improved Barty reached the quarter-finals of this year’s tournament, losing in straight sets to the eventual runner-up Petra Kvitova.
French Open
Until winning the tournament this year, Barty had previously never progressed beyond the second round of the French Open. Without a doubt she was a surprise winner of this year’s tournament, although she faced six unseeded players in seven matches, fortunately avoiding the likes of Serena Williams and Simona Halep along the way.
This tournament is likely to be considered a tournament of missed opportunities for a lot of players, most notably Simona Halep and Johanna Konta. Regardless, Barty won’t mind, and her form going into Wimbledon and the US Open should put her in good stead to continue her progression.
Wimbledon
A visit to SW19 is next on the agenda for Barty, and having just won the French Open, all eyes will be on her as she looks to continue her good season. Last year was her best result to date on the grass court, losing out to 14th seed Daria Kasatkina in the third round in straight sets.
Victory at the French Open should give her a more favourable draw in this year’s Wimbledon, so don’t be surprised if she progresses beyond the third round.
US Open
The way Barty is continuing to improve on her previous bests at the majors, the US Open presents a great opportunity for her to claim another Grand Slam title. With a hard court surface like the Australian Open, there’s no reason why she can’t replicate the same form from Down Under in the States. The quarter-finals should be the minimum for Barty this year, particularly as she reached the fourth round of last year’s US Open.
