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The next best Australian Tennis stars to watch following the retirement from Ash Barty

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Ashleigh Barty, a three-time Grand Slam champion, has announced her retirement from tennis. Barty, the No. 1 ranked women’s player got her country most of its major tournament, made it known publicly on Wednesday that she was leaving tennis for other pursuits. This will be the third time that Barty has stepped away from professional tennis but this is her first time of announcing her retirement. But her sudden retirement announcement coming after her triumph Melbourne, is a decision she has considered a lot. She has spent 113 weeks altogether at No. 1 putting her seventh on the career list. Barty happen to be the first women’s player to retire while on top of the single rankings since the Belgian star Justine Henin suddenly announced her retirement in May 2008.

Presently, and probably for eternity, Barty has ended her career $23.8 million prize money plus 15 career singles titles, including three at Grand Slam tournaments. In 2019, she won the French Open, in 2021 she won Wimbledon, and Australia Open this year, which means that she has won major singles titles on all three of tennis’ primary surfaces (clay, grass and hard court). Her triumph in the Australia Open gave her a great ending. She withdrew from the BNP Paribas Open making her Melbourne triumph her last match.

To conclude with, her unexpected retirement is obviously a blow to the sport. Barty is extremely popular in Australia with her humble personality. She is also a very important figure of Indigenous Austrailan descent.

After Barty’s retirement, there are few Aussie women’s players to watch: There are just two Australian women sitting in the world’s top 100 and they are Ajla Tomljanovic and Astra Sharma.

Ajla Tomljanovic has recorded eight singles wins in her career best Grand Slam season. She reached the Wimbledon quarter finals and US open third round. Ajla played a major role in the Fed Cup final in November 2019, making her first win for the country.

Astra Sharma won her first WTA singles title in April. She won her second WTA doubles title in Guadalajara. She was named twice in the Fed Cup team in 2019.

A 19 year old Olivier Gadecki. She is one of the fastest risers on the WTA the previous year. She moved from no ranking to mid-200s.

Charlotte Kempenaers and Tayla Preston are the two highest ranked juniors at the moment. They are both ranked in the top 40 – 50 in the world. Both of them will be competing at the upcoming junior grand slams.

THE NEXT BEST AUSTRAILIAN TENNIS STAR (MEN)

At 23, Alex de Minaur is one of Australia’s brilliant tennis prospect. He has continued to arise heads and he is still a player to keep close eye on moving forward.

De Minaur will be in action at the Miami Open on the 29th of March to face Stefanos Tsitsipas in the round of 32. Alex De Minaur has kept Australia’s hopes alive with a victory in the Davis Cup qualifier over Marton Fucsovics. In a relentless display, De Manaur defeated Fusovic, who is is ranked No. 35 in the world and 5 places below De Minaur.

James Duckworth is an Australia professional tennis player. He has a high rank in Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) singles ranking of the world No. 47 who he achieved on November 8 2021 and No. 185 doubles achieved on February 10 2020. Duckworth has won three titles and reached the semifinals of the 2010 French Open.

Thanasi Kokkinakis has made another chapter in his stunning 2022 comeback story with a victory over Hungary in the Davis Cup qualifier. It was his first match win in the world team event since 2015. That was the last time he represented Australia against Great Britain in the World Group semifinals.

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Tennis News, Ash Barty just became the new Australian Open women’s singles champion on home soil after she defeated Danielle Collins in straight sets

by Sports Benches

Wow!! Can you believe it as Ash Barty just defeated 27th seed American Danielle Collins in straight sets & made history at Rod Laver Arena, as she is now the new Australian Open women’s singles champion. It’s her third grand slam title that first began at the French Open in 2019 followed by Wimbledon last year and her dream to lift the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup on home soil has now been fulfilled in Melbourne tonight.

She and Collins were on the same page at the beginning before Barty shifted a gear or two which justified the opening set lead, now Barty may have been tested a few times by Collins, who almost tied 1-1, after a brilliant response. However, she never gave up with so much patience having fought back a couple of games, brought it towards a tiebreaker & renewed that momentum where Barty beat Collins to the punch in the end.

And Collins would be disappointed to end up behind Barty, she came in this main draw as the 27th seed where she worked very hard through each round by upsetting some opponents along the way and here she is now in the main event. Collins returned the favor well back to Barty especially in the 2nd set having respond beautifully which was almost too good to pull off & still be in the game, it’s just not her night when it comes to the 2nd half momentum as Collins couldn’t hold back Barty before she eventually ran out of options at the tiebreak that saw her opponent race towards a home run.

Final Score: 6-3, 7-6 via 7-2 tiebreaker to Barty

Love seeing an Australian win a major grand slam title at home, it’s a huge night to write another breakthrough moment in the history of Australian sport. Let’s hope Ash continues her best tennis throughout the year and the next few years to come for more Grand Slam silverware. And for Collins, she will use her runner-up campaign here for some room for improvement, so she can try to improve these other Grand Slam records towards at least more Finals appearances that will help finally win a championship.

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Tennis News, Danielle Collins will face Ash Barty for the 2022 Australian Open women’s singles final after she just defeated comfortably v Iga Swiatek in the 2nd semi-final tie

by Sports Benches

There’s another easy semi-final win from American Danielle Collins, who just knocked down 7th seed from Poland Iga Swiatek, in straight sets 6-4, 6-1, as she will meet Australian Ash Barty for Saturday’s Australian Open women’s singles final.

Swiatek would be gutted with the semi-final loss, she fought so hard to keep in contention having won back some games in the opening set that almost derailed Collins’s strong start. She just couldn’t match what her opponent offered where the strong start build-up play, building a decent lead and being afforded ample time to execute saw her eventual elimination out of the Final 4.

And Collins was unbelievable on the court tonight, not only did she credit the closed roof while the rain was there but also the hard track surface where she produced the better game than Swiatek. Collins used her early lead with patience which paid off in the opening set before she went full-on after the break & that proved easy to nail down in just over an hour of play.

All eyes on the main event this Saturday, can Collins win her first grand slam or will it be Ash Barty, who can end the 43-year long drought, and be the next Australian to win on home soil since Chris O’Neil in 1978?

For now, the tables turn on the men’s semi-finals day tomorrow with Matteo Berrettini v Rafael Nadal and Stefanos Tsitsipas v Daniil Medvedev as four will turn to two by the Men’s singles final on Sunday.

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Tennis News, Ash Barty is through to the Final of the 2022 Australian Open womens’ singles final after she defeated Madison Keys in straight sets

by Sports Benches

We have an Australian in an Australian Open womens’ singles final at last in a long time, Ash Barty has made it after a very easy & straight sets win (6-1, 6-3) v American Madison Keys in just 62 minutes at Rod Laver Arena. All eyes on the 2nd and last semi-final game shortly between another American Danielle Collins v Poland’s Iga Swiatek.

Keys went a long, long way after a disappointing 2021 campaign & kickstarted 2022 with a bang on Australian shores, she fought back some games after the break having tried to hold this tie for longer. However, a poor start combined with a huge lead gap behind the Aussie was just too much to catch up before it was over.

And Ash Barty was outstanding where she was on the same page as Keys at the beginning before she shifted plenty of gears that reflected an easy 1st set spell, it gave her time to finish up the job going into the 2nd set while Keys fought back a few games late as Barty pulled off comfortably towards the homestretch.

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Tennis News, Iga Swiatek’s brilliant comeback from the opening set down was enough to book a semi-final spot v Danielle Collins tomorrow night at Rod Laver Arena

by Sports Benches

What a brilliant fightback from Poland’s Iga Swiatek when she came from behind after the opening set down, worked her way back in contention as this match-up goes & eliminated Estonian Kaia Kanepi in the end. Swiatek’s next opponent will be American Danielle Collins where they duel for Saturday’s final slot during the 2nd semi-final tomorrow night.

She was always on the top of her game even though Swiatek fell short of Kanepi’s strong start, nonetheless, the Pole knows she came here against a difficult opponent like Kanepi, who has plenty of experience, in previous grand slam Quarter-Finals before at 36. And knowing her strengths and weaknesses got the better hand of Swiatek where she held back the Estonian during the 2nd set tiebreak, then the 3rd set decider came in at the perfect time & pulled off without a fuss.

And Kanepi would be disappointed with the quarter-final elimination, who still has yet to crack seven times past this stage, so far in her singles career. She got that build-up base going which gave her time to get the job done through the opening set spell, although she never gave up holding off top spot but couldn’t find the home base when Kanepi began to falter during the 2nd set tiebreaker before eventually running out of solutions in the end. Kanepi still hopes to go one better & be an elite grand slam star as a late bloomer, she still drives trucks back home on a part-time basis but is sure to walk home with $538,500 USD prize money with more to come throughout this year.

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Tennis News, Danielle Collins off to her 2nd Australian Open women’s semi-final since 2019 as she watches on either Iga Swiatek or Kaia Kanepi as her next opponent

by Sports Benches

Danielle Collins is off to her 2nd Australian Open semi-final having done once before in 2019 after she defeated Alize Cornet in straight sets (7-5, 6-1), she will be watching that 4th & last Quarter-Final right now between Poland’s Iga Swiatek & Kaia Kanepi from Estonia where one of them will face her in the 2nd semi-final tie tomorrow night.

Cornet gutted to be eliminated from the Final 8 after she finally made her first Grand Slam knockout appearance at the age of 32, this in incredible when her best previous record beforehand was a series of 4th Rounds. She showed some fightback as of late in the 1st set but a poor start & a lack of 1st half momentum saw Cornet being outplayed by Collins, Cornet still has a few years left at singles’ level so she hopes to continue that breakthrough run going into the Roland Garros in late May.

And Collins too good left, right and center thanks to an a terrific start that helped her build a big lead over Cornet, it allowed Collins to group some pieces together before she wrapped this up so quick and effective in the end.

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Tennis News, Danielle Collins went from the opening set down to a thrilling comeback against Dane Clara Tauson in the 3rd Round at Rod Laver Arena

by Sports Benches

Fantastic rebound from American Danielle Collins with the win, who went from the opening set down against Clara Tauson, to tied 1-1 going into the 3rd set decider and now advanced into the 4th Round of 2022 Australian Open. She will now face Belgian Elise Mertens on Monday for a spot in the Final 8, plus head off straight away to 1573 Arena in the Round 2 doubles tie with fellow American Desirae Krawczyk where they too will face off another American pair of Jessica Pegula and Asia Muhammad.

Final Score: 6-4, 4-6, 5-7

Unlucky from Clara Tauson after being eliminated from Round 3 of the Opening grand slam tournament in Melbourne, she fired off well that gave her the early lead. Now she continued to rack up more games to stay in the game, but she just couldn’t pull off these conversions where Collins read her main weakness that eventually caught up to her before it’s too late.

She’s 19 right now & currently ranked 39th in the women’s WTA singles rankings, it’s also her first Grand Slam main draw here when Tauson only made the 1st Qualifying Round twice in 2020-21 beforehand, so no doubt the Dane will get better with experience before challenging the title at some point.

And Collins was again brilliant on the court when she fought so hard against Tauson & at one point was almost eliminated even though Collins was on the same page, her past experience playing here as a semi-finalist once before in 2019 & fightback gave the American the better edge when she closed in to Tauson at a 1-1 lead, overtook her through the 3rd set decider & held off with the win.

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Tennis News, Ash Barty continues her 2022 Australian Open campaign with another easy win against 30th seed Camila Giorgi from Italy at Rod Laver Arena

by Sports Benches

What an easy win where Ash Barty has just wrapped this up in just one hour & one minute through straight sets at Rod Laver Arena v 30th seed Italian Camila Giorgi, she will now face American Amanda Anisimova, who just upset reigning Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka, for Round 4 on Sunday.

Final Score: 6-2, 6-3

There are no problems whatsoever from Barty, who fired off and built a very easy lead, now she may be a bit challenged along the way where Giorgi fought back a game or two but she always showed plenty of firepower that reflected her easy spell tonight.

And Giorgi gutted with the loss after being eliminated in Round 3, she won a couple of games & did her best to rescue this game having been on the same page as Barty after the break, however, she was way behind when it comes to the overall lead and just couldn’t catch up through the end of both sets.

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Tennis News, Sam Stosur wraps up her singles career at the 2022 Australian Open with the doubles still the come before beginning retirement after her defeat in RD2 v Anastasia Pavlychenkova

by Sports Benches

Sam Stosur may have just been eliminated in Round 2 from this year’s Australian Open women’s singles tournament by 10th seed Russian Anastasia Pavlychenkova (2-6, 2-6), but what a stellar career she’s had in the singles circuit for a long time having been runner-up in the 2010 French Open, won the 2011 US Open women’s singles title & an elite player in the doubles with four grand slam championships too.

Now she still has the doubles campaign to play a part later on in Melbourne with Zhang Shuai (Women’s doubles) & Matt Ebden (Mixed doubles), but Stosur will also want to end things on a high note on home soil before she begins retirement off the court & spend more time with her partner Liz and 1 1/2 year old daughter Genevieve.

It’s great to see Sam Stosur lift the profile of Tennis in Australia that inspires these kids to take up this sport & follow her lead in the hope of becoming the next Grand Slam star, have a look at Ash Barty, who currently holds the baton in this legacy, having won the French Open in 2019 as well as Wimbledon last year & now she hopes to become the next Aussie win at home for the first time since Chris O’Neil in 1978.

For now, we wish her all the best on life off the court.

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Tennis News, Naomi Osaka advances to Round 3 & will face another American in Amanda Anisimova after an easy win v Madison Brengle tonight at Rod Laver Arena

by Sports Benches

It was an easy night for the defending Australian Open women’s champion in Naomi Osaka as she took down American Madison Brengle through straight sets 0-4, 4-6 at Rod Laver Arena, her next opponent for Round 3 on Friday will be another American in Amanda Anisimova.

For Brengle, it’s on the contrary who is disappointed with the early Australian Open exit having gone past Round 1 via walkover v Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska. She showed some fight after being beaten so easily from the first set and was so close towards securing a 3rd set decider, but Brengle left it too late where a poor start & some fightback later on made it harder to hold back Osaka.

And Osaka played outstanding as always for the whole time that secured a quick and easy win, she smashed it 6-0 in the first set before Brengle began to catch up after the break while Osaka took time to escape Brengle & eventually made it past the finish line unscathed with the win.

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