MELBOURNE, Australia – Leading 6-1 and 2-1 in their quarter-final match against 25th seed Karolina Muchova, world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty had a foothold in the final four of the Open Australia and the nation’s dream of crowning its first home-champion grown since Christine O’Neil in 1978 was getting closer.
Barty dominated Total Muchova in the opening set, continuing the dominant race that had been this year at Melbourne Park. He scored 25 points, at 11 from Muchova, made just six unforced errors and played a tennis mark that would have had the remaining four women, including Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka, more than a little nervous at the prospect of facing to her. deep in the tournament.
But in scenes reminiscent of last year’s men’s Australian Open final between world number 1 Novak Djokovic and Dominic Thiem, a controversial waiting time brought the match to a head. Muchova used rest not to seek treatment for a previous abdominal injury, but to make up; after almost 10 minutes of rest, the Czech withdrew 11 of the next 15 matches to win 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 and send Barty falling from his home slam.
With Barty boosting his momentum until a first serve break to go up 2-0 in the second set, a muchova plan was left looking for answers. When the 24-year-old left the field of play, he signaled to preside over referee Carlos Ramos who needed medical time. It appears that Muchova did not suffer from any particular illness, but nevertheless was granted and left the court to receive treatment shortly afterwards.
“I started to feel a little lost at the end of the first set and my head was spinning, so I took a break,” Muchova explained after the game. “They refreshed me a little with ice and helped me.”
That 10-minute break in the game proved to be the catalyst for an impressive change and one that will probably haunt Barty for a while.
Muchova retired immediately to tie the second set with a 2-2 and out of nowhere it was the Czech who played the best tennis. Barty’s focus dropped and suddenly the balls painting the lines of Rod Laver Arena in the first set and three games long and wide were scattered. He threw balls into the net and failed more often than we had seen throughout the tournament.
It was almost as if Barty thought the task was over and he couldn’t quite motivate himself to go back to the top gear.
Muchova pocketed the second set in 52 minutes and, when he managed to break Barty in the first game of the decisive set, the Australian’s aspect of concern only became more evident. For the first time in the tournament, Barty was not a favorite to advance to the next round.
Barty, stunned and surprised, continued to struggle, but spread unforced errors all over the court, allowing Muchova to break again shortly afterwards for a 5-2 lead. The Czech served the match, getting her first berth in the semifinals in a Grand Slam.
“Today is a disappointment, no doubt,” Barty said after the loss. “I wish I had been better and been a little sharper the next game [after the medical timeout]. I just made a couple of loose mistakes in this game. I think for the rest of the set, that was the story. “
The change of momentum after the medical downtime was brutal. Muchova had only managed one winner before leaving the court, but managed to get 16 when she returned. Meanwhile, the six unforced errors Barty had made increased to 37 at the end of the match. She had been shaken.
“I felt like I was losing my way with overacting, overpressing, not letting myself work on the points and building points really as well as I would like,” he said. “I’m disappointed that I can’t get the game back on my terms.”
For the second year in a row, Barty has a golden opportunity to lift the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup. Twelve months ago she was the only player in the top ten to reach the semi-finals at Melbourne Park, but she failed to seize the opportunity and fell to eventual champion Sofia Kenin in sets in a row in the penultimate round.
This year has perhaps been even friendlier with Barty, with the draw open significantly throughout the tournament. The first half positions in the draw to Kenin, Bianca Andreescu, Petra Kvitova and Elina Svitolina were kicked out at first, leaving Barty with the unknown trio of Muchova, Jennifer Brady and Jessica Pegula next to him in the draw in the quarterfinals.
Golden opportunities, like these, to win the Grand Slam at home are not given as often and Barty wasting two, in consecutive years, is a major disappointment.
“It’s heartbreaking, no doubt,” he said. “But we go through it all and learn all these experiences. Will it deter me, ruin the fact that we’ve had a really successful start to the season? Absolutely not.”