World number one Ashleigh Barty rallied back from 5-1 down in the second set to beat Danielle Collins 6-3, 7-6 (7/2) and win her maiden Australian Open title on Saturday. The 25-year-old Queenslander also became the first Australian woman to win the singles title at Melbourne Park in 44 years.

Barty came into the summit clash in imperious form – on a 10-match winning streak, having not dropped a set in her last six matches and an impeccable service game. And she started the final in the same vein, winning the first set against the world number 30 American with one service break. 

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Collins – who was playing in her maiden Grand Slam final – hit back in the second set, breaking Barty’s serve in the second and fifth game to take a 5-1 lead. She was on the cusp of taking the final into a third set when Barty mounted a fightback to win five of the next six games to force a tiebreaker – which the 25-year-old dominated. 

Chris O’Neil was the last Australian woman to be crowned Australian Open singles champion, after defeating American Betsy Nagelsen in straight sets in 1978. Wendy Turnbull was the last Australian woman to reach the Australian Open final in 1980. 

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This was Barty’s third Grand Slam title, after her wins in the Wimbledon last year and the 2019 French Open. 

Barty was handed the trophy by her icon and fellow indigenous Australian Evonne Goolagong Cawley, a four-time Australian Open champion.   

“This is just
a dream come true for me and I’m so proud to be an Aussie,” Barty said in her
post-match comments.

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Barty also
hailed her American opponent, saying, “You’re in the top 10 and its absolutely
where you belong. Congratulations, and I know you’ll be fighting for many more of
these in the future.”

Meanwhile,
Collins said Barty’s rise to the top was “phenomenal” and that she “admired”
her as a player.

“First, I think
I owe a big congratulations to Ash for a phenomenal two weeks here and really a
phenomenal couple of years. It’s been tremendous to watch her climb the rankings
all the way to number one and live out the dream,” she said.

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“I really
admire you as a player that you are and the variety of your game and hopefully I
can implement some of that into mine.”