And how can we not understand it? Because when a childhood dream is about to come true, it is difficult to have a sure gesture, alert legs and clear ideas. Especially when it comes to his first Wimbledon final. In the end, spectators only see what is happening on the court, not the anguish, impatience and all that the players experience in the hours leading up to the event, and in their hearts. Being in the moment is an absolute ideal for achieving the best possible performance on the court. But ignoring everything around us and our own thoughts can sometimes prove to be very complicated.
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Heir to Goolagong, she felt the weight of history on her shoulders
Ashleigh Barty did not manage to do so in this final. She was the first to admit it in her speech during the presentation of the trophies. “I didn’t get much sleep last night, I was thinking a lot ‘what if…’ But I walked into this court, I felt at home in a way“, she explained. The world number 1 had made the match several times in her head before entering Center Court, which cost her some energy, before calming down to start the hostilities.
Her luck may have been that her opponent Karolina Pliskova was also very tense by the event. This is what allowed him to quickly find himself with a set and a break in advance, then to serve at 6-5 in the second set for the title. The tension and weight of the moment caught up with her: becoming the first Australian to win Wimbledon since Evonne Goolagong-Cawley in 1980. She had thus in a way assumed her status as heiress throughout the tournament by sporting a dress inspired by the one worn by her glorious elder when she won her first All England Club title half a century ago.
The stress was therefore invited in his arm and made him lose the tie-break of the second round. This difficult passage could also have been a real turning point. Because if Barty has asserted herself as one of the best players in the world for two years, after having put her career on hold for a while, she does not have blind confidence in her possibilities like a Novak Djokovic. “It took me a long time to confess, to verbalize that I wanted to dare to dream; and win this amazing tournament“, she blurted out in what constitutes anything but a forced exercise of humility.
Being able to play Wimbledon was already a miracle
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The Australian doubted herself all the more that just playing this fortnight at Wimbledon was already a big win. Injured in the left hip at Roland Garros, she had to give up in the second round on Parisian soil and could not play any preparation match on grass. His team had even chosen not to tell him everything the doctors thought about his injury and how long it would take him to recover. She should have been away from the courts for two months, but managed to get back on her feet twice as fast. “Being able to play Wimbledon was already a miracle“, she revealed to journalists.
So Barty couldn’t decently give up, even when things seemed to turn sour. There was no question of collapsing. “I just told myself to keep fighting. Karolina is an incredible ‘matchmaker’, she brought out my best tennis today (Saturday). It was an exceptional game and I knew I had to play at my best. I was very proud of my ability to revive after losing the second set“, she considered.
Ashleigh Barty and Karolina Pliskova at the 2021 Wimbledon Trophy Presentation
Credit: Getty Images
Known for the legends, she devotes a certain idea of tennis
His best tennis, really? We are entitled to doubt it (29 unforced errors including 7 double faults), as she sometimes seemed feverish. But his best tennis possible under these particular circumstances, certainly. Because it is technically that Barty ended up making the difference at the beginning of the third act before holding his advantage until the end. Granted, Pliskova also gave her a bunch of points, but that’s also and above all because the Czech was worn down by the changes in direction and varying lengths of the Australian’s backhand slice, as well as her changes of pace. sometimes brutal in forehand accelerations.
It is thanks to her science of playing on grass, her wide range of strokes, her ability to vary that Barty was crowned. Much to the delight of the discerning English public and the legends of women’s tennis present in the stands of the Center Court. Victorious of her fourth title of the season, the world number 1 saw her consistency in excellence rewarded and a certain idea of the game. And if she still seemed to doubt that Evonne Goolagong-Cawley could be proud of her, Martina Navratilova assured her that it was. “We all are, you deserve it“, even added Billie Jean King. What else?
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