Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic reacts after winning against Johanna Konta of Britain their women’s semi final match during the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 07 June 2019. EPA-EFE/SRDJAN SUKI
By Ricky Dimon
The French Open women’s single final matchup was every bit lopsided as it was surprising.
In a showdown between first time Grand Slam finalists world No. 8 Ashleigh Barty and unseeded Marketa Vondrousova, it was Barty who dominated the proceedings 6-1, 6-3. The 23-year-old needed only one hour and 10 minutes of work on the biggest day of her professional career.
“It’s remarkable,” Barty assured. “At the moment it’s a bit too much and a bit out there, really…. For the last fortnight, the stars have aligned for me. I have been able to play really good tennis when I’ve needed it. This is just incredible. I never dreamt that I’d be sitting here with this trophy here at the French Open.”
Based on her recent play, though, the Aussie’s triumph did not come from completely out of nowhere.
Barty’s outstanding form (she triumphed in Miami earlier this spring) suggested that something like this was possible, but that did not at all appear to be the case for a brief moment on Saturday. In the semifinals against American upstart Amanda Anisimova, the Aussie squandered all of a 5-0, double set-point lead and eventually found herself trailing 7-6(4), 3-0. Seemingly down and out, Barty righted the ship to take the second and also recovered from a break down in the third to beat Anisimova 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-3.
There was no such drama on Sunday. Against the 19-year-old Vondrousova, Barty broke serve five times in eight return games and struck 27 winners to the Czech’s 10.
“I think she was just too good today,” Vondrousova admitted. “I think she played amazing match. I didn’t have too many chances today. Yeah, I think she just gave me a lesson.
“She’s playing too good. She’s mixing things up. And she has a huge serve. So it’s all very tough to play against. I didn’t really feel good today because she didn’t let me play my game. It was really tough.”
With her victory, Barty will climb to No. 2 in the world and has a realistic chance of reaching the top spot at Wimbledon. But she’s not quite thinking about that just yet.
“I know I’m playing good tennis,” Barty concluded. “And Wimbledon is a long way away, and I feel like I need to…I have to be able to celebrate this with my team; take a few days off.”
She certainly deserves it.
Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on twitter at @Dimonator.
Editor’s Note: Marty was at The Party! (as in Mulligan with FILA)
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