Barty storms into third round of Wimbledon
London: Australian star Ashleigh Barty should get the centre-court exposure she deserves after storming into the third round of Wimbledon.
The new world No.1 was in a belligerent mood, crushing Belgian Alison Van Uytvanck 6-1, 6-3 in 55 minutes on a sunny, warm morning on court two where there were surprisingly several empty seats.
She now awaits a third-round meeting with either British wildcard Harriet Dart or Brazilian qualifier Beatriz Haddad Maia.
The surprise first-round exits of 2017 Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza and world No.22 Donna Vekic have opened up the tournament for the Queenslander, who more than likely faces a quarter-final showdown with either seven-times champion Serena Williams or German champion Angelique Kerber.
In no mood to waste time, Barty was at her best against an opponent who was ambushed and never recovered.
The French Open champion was dominant on her first serve, winning 79 per cent of those points. She also converted five of seven break points and was strong either at the net, winning 10 of the 15 times she ventured forward, or on the baseline, winning 30 of her 49 rallies.
"It was a really clean match overall. I started particularly well and there were not too many errors. I was really happy with today," Barty said.
"I had to make a lot of returns first and foremost in the first set and I think I did that."
Having been snubbed from a centre-court appearance in her opening two rounds, surely Barty will be there on Saturday.
She led 3-0 in the blink of an eye with her all-round game troubling her opponent.
Van Uytvanck had the chance to hold serve in the fourth game of the match but Barty forced deuce and then claimed the match on a defensive lob which forced her opponent into an error.
She continued to power away, serving an ace to claim the fifth game before Van Uytvanck finally got on the board. However, the joy soon ended when Barty claimed the first set in 25 minutes.
The third game of the second set told the tale. With scores locked at 1-1, Van Uytvanck may have felt she was a chance to barge her way back into the contest. But this was where Barty displayed her all-round style.
Van Uytvanck went to the net on the opening point, only for Barty to beat her with a cross-court forehand. Then came a forehand down the line to take a 0-30 advantage. Barty then won a baseline battle when a Van Uytvanck forehand found the net. While Van Uytvanck won a point, her serve was broken when her backhand failed to clear the net.
This gave Barty a 2-1 lead and she appeared to be cruising to victory when Van Uytvanck conjured a surprise break of serve just as Barty looked set to deliver the formalities. It meant little though, for in the next game Barty needed only the one match point - the 16 strokes between the pair was the longest rally of the game - to get the job done.
On a day Bernard Tomic was fined $80,000 for tanking, Barty ensured Australian tennis had much to cheer about.