Former world No.1 Ash Barty survived a huge scare during her opening match at the US Open on Monday.
The Australian produced an at times erratic performance during her 1-6, 6-3, 6-2, win over Zarina Diyas. A 25-year-old Kazakh player currently ranked 80th in the world who has lost in the first round in three out of the past four grand slam tournaments. Despite the disparity in the form of the two players, it was Barty who struggled to find her footing early on before coming through. Illustrated by her 36 unforced errors as she only managed to get 43% of her first serves in.
“Zarina was able to put it (the ball) in difficult positions today, even off my slice.” Barty reflected during her on-court interview.
“I think she handled it particularly well, but for me it was just about continuing to try and deal with it under pressure and make her come up with some really good stuff.”
A sluggish start to the match from Barty enabled the underdog to claim five consecutive games with relative ease. Diyas moved freely around the court and placed pressure on her opponent from the onset. Meanwhile, a tentative hitting Barty produced an uncharacteristic 15 unforced errors to go down a double break (0-4). Eventually she managed to get onto the scoreboard, but the damage was already done. Serving for the first set, Diyas sealed the 6-1 lead with a love service game that ended after a Barty forehand landing beyond the baseline.
Coming into Flushing Meadows, Diyas had only managed to win two out of 21 matches against top 10 opposition. The most recent being over Andrea Petkovic back in 2015. As for 2019, she was yet to defeat a player ranked higher than 32nd (Barbora Strycova at the Sydney International). In contrast, Barty has developed a reputation of being one of the most consistent players on the tour with 42 wins this season.
The fight back
A surge in Barty’s form paved way for a considerably more competitive second set. Matching each other game by game, she finally got the breakthrough she was searching for. Leading 4-3, a Diyas shot into the net gifted Barty her first break in the match and the chance to take proceedings in a decider. Something she did with the help of a 109 mph ace down the centre of the court.
Continuing to turn her fortunes around, Barty snatched a double break in the third set to close in on victory. Aided by an increase in her first serve percentage, the 23-year-old rallied to the finish line as she capitalized on her rivals rapidly increasing error count. Securing victory on her first match point after a Diyas forehand landed out.
“I think for me, I just had to start with my serve.” The world No.2 commented about how she managed to come back in the match.
“I really wasn’t giving myself enough chances on my serve and I don’t know what my percentage was in the first set, but it certainly wasn’t very good. I just started from basics and start again. Try to figure it out.”
It was the first time Barty had played on the Arthur Ashe stadium since winning the doubles title 12 months ago. Her first major title of any sort. Since then, she has added the French Open singles title to her resume.
“It was a bizarre. We (my team) walked out here to practice the other day and a few memories came flooding back.” Said Barty.
“We’re just pleased that we managed to solve this riddle today and stay alive in the tournament.” She added.
Barty will play either Lauren Davis or Johanna Larsson next.
