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Ashleigh Barty added the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup to her illustrious trophy cabinet with a 6-3, 7-6(2) victory over Danielle Collins in the 2022 Australian Open final on Saturday.
The World No. 1 pulled off an extraordinary comeback from 1-5 down in the second set against the big-hitting Collins. It wrapped up a near-flawless fortnight for the 25-year-old, who didn't drop a set throughout her campaign.
Barty went home with her third Grand Slam title and became the first Australian woman in 44 years to lift the Australian Open trophy.
During the trophy presentation ceremony, she acknowledged the efforts of tournament director Craig Tiley and his team in organizing the event and added that the Slam has been one of her "favorite experiences."
"I'm almost stumped here," Barty said. "These past couple of years have been extraordinarily tough for everyone and it takes a real big village to put on an event like this. So you guys made the place feel welcome and this tournament has been one of my favorite experiences. So thank you so much for all the efforts."
Barty then went on to thank the packed crowd inside Rod Laver Arena for elevating the decibel level in support of their home hero. Saying she was "proud to be an Aussie," Barty admitted that it was a dream-come-true for her to win a Grand Slam in her country.
"As an Aussie, the most important part of this tournament is being able to share with so many people and you guys today in the crowd have been nothing short of exceptional," she said. "You guys brought me so much joy today, you forced me to play my best tennis. It's just a dream come true for me and I'm so proud to be an Aussie."
She further expressed her gratitude to her entourage for their relentless love and support. The Aussie, who resumed the second phase of her tennis career in 2016, thanked her team for sticking with her all these years and credited them for her accomplishment.
"To my team - wow!" she remarked. "I've said numerous times I'm so lucky to have so many people here that love me and support me. Feels pretty special that my mum, dad and my sisters are here. I'm an incredibly lucky and fortunate girl to have so much love in my corner. The second part of my career, we did it all together. I love you guys, you're the absolute best in the business."
"I'm so grateful to be able to come here, it's a childhood dream of mine" - Danielle Collins after losing to Ashleigh Barty
Runner-up Danielle Collins revealed in her speech that it was a childhood dream to contest the championship match at Melbourne Park.
The American, who underwent surgery for endometriosis last year, admitted to feeling "lucky" to be competing and to have made it all the way to the final.
"I'm so grateful to be able to come here, it's a childhood dream of mine," Collins said. "I want to thank everybody that came to support me these last two weeks. I'm honestly just lucky to be out here competing and to have gotten this far has been incredible. Thank you so much everyone for coming to every single match and being here for me on the good days and the bad days."
