July 10, (THEWILL) – World number one tennis player Ashleigh Barty required a three-setter on Saturday to reach a second Grand Slam singles title after she defeated Karolina Pliskova 6-3 6-7 6-3 to clinch the 2021 Wimbledon women’s final at the All England Club.
Barty added the Wimbledon trophy to the Roland Garros title she won in the 2019 French Open with a rollercoaster victory over the number eight seed. The Australian highest ranked female player needed to save a break back point and, immediately after, she served it out from deuce to carry the day.
Her co-finalist, Pliskova, had a difficult start as Barty got off strongly by winning the first four games. But, Pliskova quickly overcame some dreadful early jitters which interrupted her performance in the first set. She came into her own in a second set surge which she resolutely fought to hold and succeeded to force the match into a decider.
Barty proved too strong in the key moments of their third set and the top seed deservedly beat Pliskova 6-3 in that final set to lift the SW19 trophy. It was an emotional outcome for the Australian due to the significance of the occasion.
Barty, who was the 2011 Wimbledon junior champion, won again in England in what is the 50th anniversary of her hero, Evonne Goolagong Cawley’s first win. Since that 1980 victory of Cawley, Barty is the first female Aussie to triumph at SW19, further consolidating her position as the best in the female game.
The 25-year-old Australian has held the top spot in the WTA Tour rankings since September 2019 and will keep that going in the absence of second-ranked player Naomi Osaka and the victory in Wimbledon as she takes home the Venus Rosewater Dish. Barty recorded 30 winners and seven aces to overcome her Czech opponent.
That was against Pliskova’s 27 winners and 32 unforced errors. It was only Pliskova’s second appearance at a Grand Slam final and her second loss as her pursuit of a first Slam victory continues. At the 2016 US Open, the Czech lost to German player Angelique Kerber.
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Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
