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... and it was pretty special
She’s 20 years old, Naomi Osaka, and she already showed some traits that you see in the very best. The temperament to take early advantage and break the local favourite’s serve to start both of the sets. The calm to come back when she was a break point down on a couple of occasions. And the power and accuracy in service and in-play winners that made a very good player look pretty average. Barty was not on top of her game today, seemed to be having one of those off days that can happen to any athlete, but even when she did find a few good points in a row, Osaka was able to snuff out the run. She’ll play Simona Halep next, who had a tough and long match earlier today, while Osaka breezed past Ash Barty 6-4, 6-2. Here’s betting that plenty of Australians will transfer their allegiance to Osaka - she’s got the talent and charisma.
Naomi Osaka goes through to the fourth round ...
And she works the crowd expertly in her post-match interview. “I feel really happy, but also kind of sorry because I know you guys really wanted her to win. So thank you very much because I’ve never played in an atmosphere like this. I’ve always wanted to play against an Australian player, because on TV it seems really cool. So thank you.”
She gets extra points when Basil Zempilas asks her a meandering question about living in New York and being Japanese and so on, as she says that she actually lives in Florida, and her Haitian heritage is as important as the other part, and “I can’t remember the rest of your question.”
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Osaka takes the second set 6-2, and the match!
Second set: Barty 2-6 Osaka* (*denotes server): Desperate stuff from Barty! Osaka is sending her forehands down in a crouch, double-handed, like she’s playing a slog-sweep over deep midwicket. Such power. Nearly passes Barty, but a desperate diving shot lobs the ball back. Osaka powers it down again, only for Barty to nearly lob her, and as Osaka tries to play the smash, she can’t get any purchase. Barty gets up to 30 thanks to an error, then Osaka produces four bombs in a row to take the match! The first is a big winner, then the next three are first serves that do enough, a couple of aces and another serve that can’t be returned. What a way to round things out.
Second set: Barty* 2-5 Osaka (*denotes server): Barty on the brink. Comes to the net on the first point, should have Osaka cold again, again Osaka gets a return past Barty but this time the Australian is lucky that it sails long. Osaka slams a winner next ball, then Barty fights back to 30-15. Challenges an out call on her serve, but the serve was wide. Her second serve does the job this time though, as the rally eventually sees Osaka skew the ball well wide on the far side of the court. Barty charges the net like an angry bull for the next point, slamming the ball back past her opponent. Holds serve, but now has to break or lose the match.
Second set: Barty 1-5 Osaka* (*denotes server): This is it, then. And the Barty magic just isn’t flowing today. She pounces on Osaka’s second serve, gets a rally going, then nets again. Is nearly done in by an Osaka volley, but scrambles to the net and slices her own top-spin shot across court. It might have been going wide, but Osaka decides she can’t risk it and tries to return the ball, sending it wide. 15-15. Osaka challenges an out call on an ace, but it proves to be wide. Then Barty slams the forehand return, gets crosscourt to receive the next ball, and powers a winner down the line. But sends her next shot long. 30-30. Osaka’s serve returned deep, another rally developing, but again Barty hits long before too many shots are exchanged. Game point, fault on the first serve. Double fault! Osaka goes long, and it’s deuce. The she aces to regain the advantage! And just about aces again, Barty only getting half a racquet on the attempted return down the middle. No one tennis player should have all that power, as Kanye almost sang.
Second set: Barty* 1-4 Osaka (*denotes server): The unforced errors killing Barty. Long again, and she drops her own service game to 0-30. Osaka gets a lucky net cord that keeps her in a point, but Barty eventually sets the point up for herself and this time just clips the paint of the baseline and gets into the game. Forces Osaka to go long with their next rally, too much power on a drive, and it’s all square. Barty gets Osaka wide, drawing a net shot, and is up 40-30. But holding serve is the easy part on her to-do list. Backhand slices force Osaka to make the pace, and eventually she goes long again. So Barty is on the board in this set, but she has to break back immediately. Has to find a way.
Second set: Barty 0-4 Osaka* (*denotes server): Osaka serving, goes up a point early, then nails yet another ace for 30-0. Make that another one, this time wide instead of straight, and she’s 40-0. Barty suddenly on the precipice. Osaka gives her a lifeline with a double fault, hitting the net cord on the second serve and bouncing wide. Down the T and Barty can only chip weakly back, Osaka comes to the net and doesn’t put the volley away, Barty aims a big cross-courter at it but tries to put too much sauce on the shot and it flies well wide.
Second set: Barty* 0-3 Osaka (*denotes server): Brilliant rally again between this pair, and Barty finds the winner to level up at 15-15, then goes up as Osaka finds the net. First-serve fault from Barty into the net, and Osaka pounces on her second serve across court with a huge hit that Barty can only net. Osaka is on one at the moment, dragging Barty back and forth across the court like an air hockey puck before slamming another winner down the line. It’s break point, Barty bosses it, gets the draw, comes to the net... then goes straight down the court and Osaka somehow produces a brilliant winner back past her! Brilliant anticipation, Barty had an open court, but tried to go with pure power, and Osaka has that in spades. What a point, and the Japanese player is 3-0 up!
Second set: Barty 0-2 Osaka* (*denotes server): Osaka goes a point up on her own serve, but Barty draws her into a long rally on the second, and wins it with a forehand crosscourt whack. Then Barty absolutely hamburgers a return to go 15-30 up, only to hit long on the next point and bring things back to parity. Osaka always has the ace up her sleeve, even in a singlet, and she slams another one out wide to go one up. But Barty pulls it back to deuce with a long rally, and again Osaka has to throw in a scrambled stretched backhand and lob a high ball up that Barty can put away. Advantage Osaka again with another ace, she’s serving beautifully, but again Barty drags her wide on the next point and charges the net to put away the short return. Deuce. Big serve that Barty barely gets back, but does, and manages to work her way into the point, only for Osaka to eventually pull out a huge backhand down the line. Advantage Osaka, who misses her first serve this time, but Barty tries to put too much on the second serve return and finds the fabric once again. Naomi Osaka consolidates the break, two sets running.
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Second set: Barty* 0-1 Osaka (*denotes server): It’s nice of the TV broadcaster to show seven minutes of ads instead of the opening game of the set. Barty served, and lost. That’s all I can tell you. Channel Seven putting viewers first once again.
Osaka wins the first set 6-4
First set: Barty 4-6 Osaka* (*denotes server): Barty on the attack right away in this set. Smashes a forehand winner wide, then goes 0-30 up. Osaka gets a point back, then Barty has a couple of break points. Can’t take advantage, as Osaka keeps serving big and finding winners of her own. Eventually they’re at deuce, then advantage Osaka with another winner, before Barty gives up the first set by striking long.
First set: Barty* 4-5 Osaka (*denotes server): Barty’s turn to attack, as she drags Osaka out wide, then comes to the net to put away the volley on the return. Then lands one right on the baseline paint which puts off Osaka enough that the latter goes ling. Barty slams a serve down the T that flies back well over her own baseline, and from 40-0 stays in a long rally that eventually ends with another Osaka over-hit. Holds serve once more, and has one more game to stay in the set.
First set: Barty 3-5 Osaka* (*denotes server): Osaka slips to 0-30 on serve, then steps up her power game to draw an uncontrolled lob and put it away, squaring up at 30-all. Barty can only put the next point into the net, then Osaka aces wide. Has looked super impressive so far.
First set: Barty* 3-4 Osaka (*denotes server): This line judge sounds very offended when voicing each “Out!” call. Barty misses a couple of firsts. Osaka nearly opens her up at 0-15 but fires the winner wide. Barty comes to the net on the next point to give her rival the runaround, and reaches up for an overhead smash that’s too wide for Osaka to control on the return. It’s 30-15. Another second serve, but Barty turns it into a forehand drive that is only returned as a lob, and she puts it away. Then bangs a fast one down the middle on her serve that comes back wide and low. Holds.
First set: Barty 2-4 Osaka* (*denotes server): Things heating up in a power rally, Osaka getting a lot of juice on her forehand. Clangs a serve into the net so hard that you can hear the pins rattle. Barty comes around the second serve but pumps the return long. Osaka is serving over 190 kilometres an hour consistently, and there’s not a lot Barty can do. Osaka gets to 40-0 easily, then comes to the net and skews her easy volley straight into it. Doesn’t make the same mistake twice, and holds to 15.
First set: Barty* 2-3 Osaka (*denotes server): Osaka breaks into a philosophical but beaming smile as her attempted return goes just wide. Barty presses the advantage to hold her service game to love.
First set: Barty 1-3 Osaka* (*denotes server): Barty goes up 30-40 against Osaka’s serve, but Osaka hits the wide line by a literal millimetre to square things up. Barty then goes long by a centimetre to cede the advantage, and Osaka powers a forehand winner down the line to take the game.
First set: Barty* 1-2 Osaka: Another Barty shot dumped into the net to start her service game, then she adds some pepper to her next serve so that it skews off the frame of Osaka’s racquet out wide. Finally starts to find her range, and Barty finishes out her first win of the set.
First set: Barty 0-2 Osaka* (*denotes server): Barty trying to come into the court early in the point to put pressure on Osaka. But unforced errors keep hurting the Australian. She goes down 40-15, then Osaka consolidates her break with an ace.
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First set: Barty* 0-1 Osaka (*denotes server): Right, we’re ready to go. We’ve had the warm-ups, had the preamble, had the toss and the housekeeping. Barty will serve first. She has her towels laid out, Osaka is eating some sport gels or unwrapping a set of footy cards or something. And now they’re each at their respective baselines.
Barty thunders a couple into the net to go 0-30 down, then aces wide to pull one back. Bangs the next down the T and Osaka can’t return. So we’re back on terms, but Barty pushes her next two rallies long. Osaka gets the immediate break.
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If you want a sense of the general cheery vibes surrounding Ash Barty wherever she goes at this Open, this puts a rose in every cheek.
Is this not the greatest thing ever?! Thank you Vegemite Fam 😍💛 #FuelledByVegemite #Vegemite pic.twitter.com/uovD5xepoi
— Ash Barty (@ashbar96) January 19, 2018
We’ve had a change of venue - this match was supposed to be on Rod Laver Arena, but now that things have run late there, and wrapped up on Margaret Court, we’re over at the latter spot.
Barty anthem option No2
I’ve got somethin’ to tell ya
I’ve got news for you
Gonna put some wheels in motion
Get ready ‘cause we’re comin’ through
So if you like Ash Barty,
Get on and move your body
Barty anthem option No1
Come on Barty, let’s go party...
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We’ll come to you later than expected because the first match today was an absolute classic. The World No1, Simona Halep, was supposed to have a straightforward game against Lauren Davis, ranked 50th. But it turned into an epic. It broke the record for the longest women’s match at Melbourne Park in terms of games played, finally ending 15-13 in favour of Halep in the third. But Davis was... incredible. Played the game of her life. Was on the back foot so many times, facing down break points and match points, and kept coming back with screaming winners. Amazing court coverage, a huge backhand, and then finding forehand winners down the line as well, and attacking the net in between times. Halep was pushed to her absolute limit, and saved some match points herself to hang in there. For a time the momentum was with Davis, but then she’d played so hard that a couple of her toenails started tearing off one foot, and after she had those patched up she couldn’t quite move with the same confidence. Eventually, eventually, Halep was able to wear her down. But find some footage of that match, read the reports, because it is well worth your time. A beauty, one of the great matches, and tribute to both players.
Now we’ve got to get through Alexander Zverev versus Chung Hyeon, then the Barty bus will be underway.
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It’s Barty time! Well, it will be in a couple of hours. Everybody get ready, as Ashleigh tries to make the fourth round for the first time in a singles major. The Australian No1, the WTA No17, she’s the new excitement story of Australian tennis at 21 years of age. She’s made the doubles finals at all four Slam tournaments, but now she’s finding her way in singles. Of course, she’ll always belong first and foremost in a Brisbane Heat shirt for me, after we covered her brief career in WBBL cricket a couple of southern summers ago, but she’s back to the game she played first now.
For fans of Naomi Osaka, we’ll do our best, but this blog will definitely have a Barty-first leaning. Sorry, it’s just the way things go sometimes.
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Geoff will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s Linda Pearce on Barty’s compatriot Nick Kyrgios, following his excellent win over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga last night.
