Australian Open: Barty 'not done yet' as world number one chases Melbourne glory

By Sports Desk February 15, 2021

A third consecutive Australian Open quarter-final beckons for Ash Barty but the world number one is far from satisfied as she eyes a drought-ending title in Melbourne.

Barty produced a masterclass to blitz American Shelby Rogers 6-3 6-4 in the fourth round on Monday.

Not since Wendy Turnbull in 1984 has an Australian woman reached three successive quarter-finals or more at Melbourne Park, where Barty will meet Karolina Muchova in the last eight.

But 2019 French Open champion Barty is dreaming big as she looks to become the first Australian woman since 1978 to take the title.

"We're not done yet," Barty,a semi-finalist last year, said. "Obviously it's exciting to be in another quarter-final of a grand slam, particularly here in Australia.

"If we had looked at the way we were preparing during our pre-season, to have the start that we have had so far is really encouraging, but certainly not satisfied with where we're at at the moment. 

"We will keep chipping away and keep trying to do the right things to progress as far as we can."

Barty arrived in Melbourne at the start of the year having not played in a competitive WTA Tour event since February 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Asked about the prolonged break, Barty – who stepped away from tennis in 2014 before returning in 2016 after playing cricket – said: "I think I know that I've done the work. I know that we prepared in the right way during the pre-season. 

"We've done all the work to try to give myself the opportunity to play a good level of tennis and to a level that I know I'm capable of. It's just knowing that I put the trust in the work that we've done, more than surprising myself.

"I think I've known that I've done the work. I have the ability to play at this level and then it's just about going about all of our processes, our routines the right way. All of those came back quite naturally.

"It's something that I've practiced a lot, and I gain my confidence from that practice and from those preseasons as opposed to just match results."

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    Simona Halep has hit back at Caroline Wozniacki after the Dane said she should not have been given a wild card for the Miami Open.

    Halep made a quick return to top-level action after the Court of Arbitration for Sport reduced her doping ban from four years to nine months two weeks ago.

    The two-time former grand-slam champion tested positive for the blood-boosting drug Roxadustat at the US Open in 2022 and was handed the long suspension last September.

    However, CAS accepted Halep’s explanation that she had unwittingly ingested the substance in a contaminated supplement, with the ruling coming 17 months after she was first provisionally suspended.

    There has been a lot of support for the Romanian, who was defeated by Paula Badosa in her first match in Florida on Tuesday, but Wozniacki took a different view speaking to reporters after a 6-1 6-4 win over Clara Burel.

    “I’ve always liked Simona,” said Wozniacki, also a former world number one. “We’ve always had a good relationship.

    “If someone has tested positive for doping, I understand why a tournament wants a big star in the tournament, but it’s my personal belief, and it’s not a knock on anyone, that I don’t think people should be awarded wild cards afterwards.

    “If you want to come back, and it’s been a mistake, I understand, you should work your way up from the bottom.

    “Simona’s situation has obviously dragged on for a long time. She got her suspension reduced. It wasn’t a clearance, it was a reduced sentence.

    “I just hope for a clean sport. That’s all I want. I want to have good role models for the young generation. It’s a sport that has a lot of money in it, a lot of competitiveness, a lot of competitors. I want a fair fight.”

    Halep was less than impressed by Wozniacki’s comments, responding: “Why did she say that?

    “I didn’t do anything wrong. I didn’t cheat. I didn’t dope. Thank you to the tournament for giving me the wild card and have the possibility to play in such a big tournament. It was great to be back.

    “Only one person being negative about me is not that important because I have hundreds of people that are giving me love, so I will take that.”

    Halep looked like she had never been away as she raced to the first set in just 38 minutes but Spaniard Badosa, who is herself coming back from long-term injury problems, dug in to win 1-6 6-4 6-3.

    At her post-match press conference, Halep said: “I missed this. I had emotions, but positive emotions; the crowd supporting me was so nice.

    “The level of tennis was pretty good – unexpected for most of the people. I think I did a good job today. I’m happy with my first match coming back. I would rate it as a special day, honestly.”

     

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    The 32-year-old admitted her career would have been over had the four-year ban been upheld but she remained positive the appeal against it would go her way.

    “My parents always taught me that good always prevails,” she said.

    “I trust it 100 per cent from the first day until the last day that the truth will come out and the decision will be taken in a fair way.

    “I knew I’m clean. I knew I didn’t do anything wrong. I believed that it’s impossible to stay four years for something that doesn’t exist.”

    Elsewhere, Venus Williams, 43, remains without a win since last August after a 6-3 6-3 defeat by Russian Diana Shnaider, who is 24 years her junior.

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    Swiatek, 22, never looked in trouble and once again showed why she has spent nearly two years atop the women’s rankings.

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  • PTPA executive director calls on tennis to do better following Halep reinstatement PTPA executive director calls on tennis to do better following Halep reinstatement

    Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) executive director Ahmad Nassar believes tennis should do more to protect players after Simona Halep was allowed to return to tennis.

    Halep was suspended in October 2022 after failing two drug tests following the US Open. The former world number one was initially banned for four years, but a ruling earlier in March by the Court of Arbitration for Sport slashed her suspension to nine months.

    The reduced ban means Halep can immediately return to tennis, and the two-time grand-slam winner is set to make her return at the upcoming Miami Open.

    When asked whether players in situations like Halep's should receive help to gain back what she has lost during her time away, Nassar told Stats Perform: "Should there be? Absolutely. Will there be? Probably not. For tennis, this is a much broader issue in terms of governance. 

    "Think about Simona’s case. Where did this happen, at the US Open? And so you give the Tour the cover to say 'well, it wasn't actually one of our events'. It was, and we didn't admit it. There has to be an answer.

    "The net effect is the player gets doubly penalised."

    Now 32, Halep will be a wildcard at the Miami Open.

    In Nassar's view, that is an opportunity that not every player in a similar situation would be fortuitous enough to receive.

    "I don't want to use the word lucky," Nassar explained. "But Simona is unique in the sense that she's already gotten, 24 hours later, a wildcard to Miami, a WTA 1000 event.

    "Ninety-nine per cent of players who go through anything like this will not get that. What do they have to do? Well, they have to go play maybe universal tennis events, and then WTA 125s and get back into it. That could take a year, easily.

    "Getting back, building your ranking up, getting your points up, getting the money to be able to go back out there. It becomes really overly punitive at that point."

    Nassar is hopeful that Halep can return to her top form, which saw her claim French Open and Wimbledon triumphs in 2018 and 2019 respectively.

    He added: "What I'll say is this. Athletes who have been unfairly treated often use that as fuel and motivation when they're back. And so I would not be surprised in the least if that was the case.

    "But at the same time, I don't want to make light of what Simona and other athletes who go through this type of nightmare have to endure. We definitely wish her all the best."

    Nassar also called out some in tennis for their lack of initial support for Halep, continuing: "It's been interesting to see that decision come out.

    "It's like everybody is saying 'welcome back' with open arms. And I have to ask myself, where were these people for 17 months?

    "The process was not okay. And it's still not okay."

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