Ashleigh Barty: Born in Australia, to entertain the world

Just as impressive as some of the more experienced players have been at the 2013 Australian Open on the very first day, young talent too seems to be gunning its way to the forefront, especially young Australian talent. And even amongst these, a certain teenage girl by the name of Ashleigh Barty has been most impressive.

Touted as the next best thing to happen to Aussie tennis, the 16-year old has already demonstrated quite a few stunning performances against some highly-ranked players. The results have of course been mixed, but there’s no denying that the youngster has unquestionable skills – some of which are unexpected from a player as young as her.

Against Dominika Cibulkova in the Australian Open first round, Barty gave a sublime presentation of a few of these skill-sets, managing to keep the Slovakian on tenterhooks throughout the first-set. A varied mix of shots allowed her to break her twice in the set – once, effectively for the set – while calling attention to her ability to put her opponent on the back-foot with the least possible effort. And though indeed in the end, Cibulkova might have prevailed with relatively easier scores of 6-0 and 6-1 in the second and the third sets respectively, Barty’s heroics didn’t go in vain; instead, they brought her into much more prominence. Statistics might present a harsh picture about the match’s course for the Aussie, but those watching the progress of the match would have to agree that Cibulkova had to fight for every point; it wasn’t by any means a victory easily attained.

For someone who has had absolutely no experience of playing on the bigger courts filled with much more boisterous crowds, Barty displayed no nervousness or edginess either before or during the course of play. Where many other players – more established, in terms of seniority – have been known to buckle under pressure, Barty’s ability to maintain her composure right from the start further highlights her thorough focus on the game.

A true-blue Australian, Ashleigh isn’t all that different from many of her countrymen when it comes to talking about her match performance. As candid as she was after her match against German Andrea Petkovic in the Hopman Cup, her loss to Cibulkova saw her being equally matter-of-fact about her mistakes during the match. Not coming across as pretentious, the young Australian’s level-headedness is yet another aspect bringing credit to her talent table.

Edging the likes of more experienced Australian women like Casey Dellacqua, Arina Rodionova and Olivia Rogowska to secure a second consecutive wild-card berth at the Australian Open, Ashleigh Barty doesn’t seemed to be fazed by the amount of expectations put upon her shoulders. The 2011 junior Wimbledon champion, however, seems to be eager to join in the fray, hungry for more exploits.

While the present-day Australian women’s tennis rests somewhat precariously on the shoulders of Samantha Stosur, who gave Australia’s first Grand Slam title in decades, Ashleigh Barty looks like the perfect successor to join Sam Stosur at the top of the Australian tennis hierarchy in the following few years. And to possibly even give Australia its very own native champion, in the Grand Slam Down Under.