(CNN)Ashleigh Barty became the first home Australian Open winner since 1978 after beating debutant Grand Slam finalist Danielle Collins 6-3, 7-6 in Saturday’s final.
The world No. 1 was absolutely dominant throughout the tournament, claiming a historic title without losing a set.
Australian tennis fans have had to wait more than four decades for one of their own to be crowned Australian Open champion, with Chris O’Neil taking credit for the most recent home win.
Barty’s Grand Slam tally now stands at three – her previous titles came at the French Open in 2019 and Wimbledon in 2021 – and the 25-year-old is without a doubt the most dominant force on the women’s tour right now.
With most of her career likely still ahead of her, the only question about Barty’s Grand Slam credentials remains: how many?
“I’ve said many times that I’m so lucky tonight to have so many people here who love and support me,” Barty said in her post-game interview. “I’m a lucky and lucky girl to have so much love in my corner, we started together from the start. We did everything together, nobody changed from our team. i love you to death
“As an Australian, the most important part of this tournament is being able to share it with so many people and the crowd, you were just extraordinary.
“This crowd is one of the funnest I’ve ever played in front of and you guys brought me so much joy today and helped me play my best tennis so thank you for all your love and support over the past few weeks.
“It’s a dream come true for me and I’m so proud to be Australian. Until next time.”
READ: Rafael Nadal is one win away from a record-breaking Grand Slam title after reaching the Australian Open final
Blazing start
Both players showed no signs of nervousness in the early stages and exchanged some sharp shots early on.
Collins’ signature backhand caused all sorts of problems for Barty, with the Australian struggling to contain the powerful groundstroke as he sped through Rod Laver’s court.
However, Barty was able to respond with her own serve, smashing an early 181km/h ace past her opponent as she managed to save an early break point – much to the delight of the crowd.
The partisan home support certainly showed their loyalty early on, erupting whenever Barty won a point. They then really got something to celebrate in Collins’ third service as a couple of loose groundstrokes and a wild double fault gave Barty a break of serve.
That certainly helped ease any tension Barty still felt as the home favorite ripped off two more holds to take the opening set in the blink of an eye.
Also, Collins reaching the final is one of the most notable comeback stories in tennis.
In April last year, she underwent emergency surgery for endometriosis – a condition where the tissue lining the uterus grows outside of it – and had sustained an abdominal injury at the French Open.
The 28-year-old has spoken openly about the excruciating pain she endured, describing it as some of the worst she has ever experienced.
Collins has credited the surgeon with saving her career and she is now playing one of the best tennis matches of her life, with her run to the final in Melbourne expected to put her in the world top 10 for the first time.
The player has great credit for remaining undeterred at having eluded a tight opening set so quickly.
The American often wears her heart on her sleeve on the pitch, but has kept her emotions under wraps at the biggest event of her career so far.
That all changed early in the second set, however, as Barty once again struggled with her opponent’s powerful punches, who now seemed to have just a little more bite.
Two unusual errors by Barty in her opening game of the set allowed Collins to break for the first time in the match.
The Rod Laver Arena largely fell silent except for Collins’ roar. “Come on,” she called, her fist clenched on her box.
It was quite a notable change in momentum from the opening set as Collins now dominated almost every rally.
The crowd, sensing Barty’s nervousness, did their best to bring her back into play; A forehand winner across the board was greeted with perhaps the loudest cheers of the night yet.
It wasn’t enough to get Barty back on track, however, as the magnitude of the occasion now seemed to weigh heavily on her.
The forehand became wild and unpredictable and Collins found another break of serve to seemingly put the set out of her opponent’s reach.
But Barty, the fighter she is on the court, fought back and recovered one of those breaks of serve before firing off a love-serving game to put the pressure back on Collins.
It was pressure Collins couldn’t handle as her first serve and normally reliable backhand left her, giving Barty a second break of serve.
The Rod Laver arena, which had been subdued for most of the second set, erupted and was now louder than it had been all evening.
At one point, Collins appeared unhappy with some people in the crowd who had started shouting before the scores were over, prompting the referee to warn those in attendance of their behavior.
Barty held serve to level the scores at 5-5 and what 20 minutes ago had looked like it was going to be a walkthrough for Collins had now turned into a slugfest.
Both players put down solid service plays to lead the set to a tie-break, although Collins must have wished those first serves had come a few games earlier.
Barty went 4-0 in the tiebreak and never looked like losing it from there, eventually closing it out 7-2 – and it was now party time for Rod Laver.
After 44 long years of waiting, Australia has its own Grand Slam singles champion again.
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