Australian Open: World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty Becomes First Australian In 44 Years To Be Crowned Champion

Australian Open Final: This is Barty's first grand slam win in her home country.

Ash Barty after winning Australian Open | Image: AFP

Australian Open: The crowd at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne went absolutely berserk as they witnessed Ashleigh Barty being crowned the Australian Open champion for the very first time. This is Ash Barty's third grand slam title.

It has been 44 years since any Australian won the title in their own backyard. Chris O’Neil did it in 1978 and since then, many including the great Hewitt tried but failed to conquer the glory.

Barty won the match in two straight sets 6-3, 6-6(7-2), and defeated Danielle Collins staging one of the most inspiring Australian Open comebacks.

She was 5-1 down in the second set but came back strong to win 7-2 in a tiebreaker. 

Never count out the world No.1 🙅‍♀️

From 5-1 down, @ashbarty fights back to draw level at 5-5 in the second set against Danielle Collins 👀

#AusOpen • #AO2022 pic.twitter.com/Xrm7BrzNUj

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 29, 2022

WATCH THE WINNING MOMENT HERE:

Win a Grand Slam on home soil? Completed it mate 🇦🇺🏆@ashbarty defeats Danielle Collins 6-3 7-6(2) to become the #AO2022 women’s singles champion.

🎥: @wwos • @espn • @eurosport • @wowowtennis #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/TwXQ9GACBS

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 29, 2022

A lesser-known fact about Barty is that she has been a professional cricketer too, for a short while. She was part of the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) of Australia. Barty has been involved in professional tennis since she was 15. She made her Wimbledon debut in 2013 but then later in 2014 she decided to take a break from tennis to play cricket.