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Ashleigh Barty is just two matches away from delivering big on the Aussie tennis fans' dream of seeing a home player win the Melbourne slam for the first time in decades.
For the last Australian to have won the women's singles crown you'd have to go way back to the 1978 finals where Chris O'Neil beat American Betsy Nagelsen to emerge as a surprise winner.
Well, there has been nothing surprising about Barty's run this year. She has come into the tournament as the no. 1 seed and fresh off a title. But for a shot at glory on Saturday, she has to first get over the talented young American Sofia Kenin.
But to her credit, Barty knows a little about beating Kenin on the way to slams. She did so last year at the French Open, but that's not the only time that she has beaten the young American. She has done so thrice in the four meetings.
Add to that her clutch of performances this year, especially in the face of adversity against the likes of Alison Riske and Petra Kvitová, and she is looking very confident. She said in post match conference,
Obviously, it’s exciting. Hopefully, I can bring a smile to a few faces around our country and around the world. For me, it’s trying to do the best that I can.
And it will be interesting to see how Barty changes her tactics against Kenin, who serves and knocks back a very different ball from what has been coming at her in atleast her two matches.
Also Check out: the full Australian Open 2020 Schedule & Australian Open Results
The American does not have the most powerful of groundstrokes, but she has the uncanny ability to direct rallies from the middle of the court, where most other players struggle.
Barty was able to get out of a lot of trouble by resetting rallies by hitting deep in the court especially against Riske, but with the amount of spin that Kenin puts on the ball, she will be able to handle much of it. Barty will have to come up with something more to take initiative.
It is set to an interesting battle between the two women. Barty's the definite favourite, but Kenin has a star quality of her own and has upstaged big names on the biggest of stages more than once.
Prediction: Barty to win in three sets
Also read: Australian Open 2020: Novak Djokovic vs Roger Federer | Semi-final preview and prediction
