Ash Barty is in complete control of her game right now, according to SEN’s tennis expert Brett Phillips.
The 25-year-old world No.1 eased through to the Australian Open final with a straight-sets win (6-1, 6-3) over American Madison Keys on Thursday night.
Barty will now play Danielle Collins in the decider on Saturday night after becoming the first Aussie woman to reach the Australian Open final since Wendy Turnbull in 1980. She is attempting to become the first to win since Chris O’Neil in 1978.
Phillips is confident Barty will carry her superb form into the final and break a long drought at Melbourne Park after dominating her semi-final match-up.
“We thought going in we’d be a little bit more on edge knowing that it was a semi-final against a worthy opponent who certainly played some great tennis,” he said on SEN SA Breakfast.
“You felt so comfortable within about 10 minutes after she broke so early. You thought, ‘No, no, no, Ash has got this again’. You could just look at the court and feel confident in the way she’s playing.
“I don’t think Madison Keys necessarily played at her best but Ash had everything under control.
“The crowd there, the celebration of another Australian, the first since Wendy Turnbull. It’s been a long drought, 1980 just for an Australian woman to make the final. We know the story of Chris O’Neil back in 1978, so let’s hope there’s one more.”
In six matches this tournament, Barty has won 72 games and lost only 21 - the fourth fewest games dropped to reach a Grand Slam final since 2000, behind only Serena and Venus Williams.
Her dominance has drawn comparisons to the Williams sisters but the way she has dismantled her opponents reminds Phillips the iconic Steffi Graf in her prime.
“You go back even further when Steffi Graf was just chopping up opponents,” he added.
“When she won that (1988) French Open final (against Natasha Zvereva) in about 32 minutes and she had similar scorelines at her absolute peak.
“Certainly there’s been the argument on the other side that is Ash not playing the quality of opponent. I think it’s an even tour at the moment but Ash does set herself apart because she just has shots that the other players can’t play.
“They’re just far more one-dimensional. They play in a very similar fashion whereas Ash clearly has got some assets that make the scoreboard a lot easier.
“It’s a beautiful thing to watch right now.”
The 2019 French Open and 2021 Wimbledon winner is a raging hot favourite to claim her third Grand Slam.
The expectations could perhaps weigh on Barty and add to the pressure but Phillips feels she is in such a good place both mentally and physically that it will take a huge Collins performance to deny her.
“The occasion won’t overawe her,” Phillips added on SEN Breakfast.
“She’s got the game, she’s done so much work physically to put herself in the best condition possible and the work Ben Crowe has done with the mind has put her in this incredible space that she can go out and execute and not feel that pressure.
“You’ve just got to keep backing her game in even if there are some possible nerves. You just feel like she’s going to bring the tools that will dismantle another opponent.”
You can hear all the action LIVE on SEN from 6pm AEDT this Saturday night.