Australian Open 2021: Barty undeterred following shock defeat
World number one Ashleigh Barty said that her defeat to Karolina Muchova in the Australian Open 2021 quarter-final stage will not affect her game.
The Australian, following the loss, said that her opponent was within her rights to take a medical timeout that changed the course of their Australian Open quarter-final because her “head was spinning”.
The Czech 25th seed looked finished after losing the opening set 6-1, but top seed Barty lost momentum following the near 10-minute break early in the second set as Muchova received medical attention.
A revitalised Muchova, who fought back on a hot day to snuff out hopes of first Australian champion for 43 years with a shock 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 win, said: “It was very tough and I was a bit lost on the court and my head was spinning so I took a break. It helped me.”
Barty said it was not for her to pass judgement on her opponent’s actions.
“When you call for the trainer, you obviously tell the umpire what the reason is,” said the world number one. “And then the doctor and physios come out and assess it. That’s within the rules,” said Barty.
“Obviously there are rules when we go off the court for whatever areas you’re getting treated because that’s quite normal but that’s not really my decision to make on whether or what her medical condition was or what the timeout was for.”
Muchova, down 1-2 in the second set at the time, broke Barty immediately after the timeout then earned another to take the set.
“I was disappointed that I let that become a turning point,” said Barty, who was bidding to become the first home winner since Chris O’Neil in 1978. “I’m experienced anough now to be able to deal with that. I would have liked to have just been a little bit sharper the next game.”
The Australian’s error count began mounting as Muchova surged into her first ever Grand Slam semi-final.
“Probably pressed a little bit trying to be overly aggressive,” she admitted.
Barty had enjoyed a great start to the season after not playing for almost 12 months because of coronavirus, winning a pre-Australian Open warm-up Yarra Valley Classic at Melbourne Park and not dropping a set in the first four rounds of the Australian Open.
“Yeah, it’s heartbreaking, of course,” she said. “But will it deter me, will it ruin the fact we’ve had a really successful start to our season? Absolutely not.”
‘Grown to love it’
Big-serving Jennifer Brady revealed Wednesday that she once loathed tennis but has “grown to love it” after staging a comeback victory over fellow American Jessica Pegula to reach the Australian Open semi-finals.
The 22nd seed finished strongly with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 win on Rod Laver Arena and will now face Czech 25th seed Karolina Muchova, who earlier stunned world number one Ashleigh Barty.
Brady, the last woman standing among those forced into a hard 14-day quarantine after arriving in Australia, is into the final four for the second time in the last three Slams.
Before last year’s US Open, where she lost an epic semi-final to eventual champion Naomi Osaka, Brady had been bounced out of the first round four times in her previous five majors.
“It definitely helps, just helps overall confidence,” she said about making Grand Slam semi-finals. “Just knowing that I belong at this level, I can compete in the second week of Grand Slams consistently, and hope to continue to do that consistently.”
Brady looked in trouble after dropping the first set and threw her racquet in frustration after losing a point in the middle of the second set.
The outburst, much like Novak Djokovic’s racquet-smash on Tuesday, seemed to refocus Brady, who then ran away with the match after dominating the deciding set.
Brady, 25, said she’s become consumed by tennis, watching “as much as possible” — a far cry from her childhood, when she disliked the sport.
“I’ve grown to love it. When I was younger, I used to hate watching tennis. I didn’t really enjoy playing either, to be honest,” she said. “I didn’t like to study. I didn’t like school. I found that out real quick when I went to college. I was like, ‘Okay, studying isn’t really for me.'”So it took me to get away a little bit from the sport to realise that this is what I want to do.”
Having beaten her friend Pegula, whose billionaire father owns the Buffalo Bills NFL franchise, Brady is now just a victory away from a maiden Grand Slam final, but Muchova stands in the way.
“She’s crafty, looks to move forward and has an all-court game. She’s really athletic,” Brady said of the Czech, who won the pair’s only previous clash. “I hope it will be a good, competitive match. I’m looking forward to it.”
Readmore