Adelaide International 2020: World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty clinches first title on home soil

Things are starting to look intense ahead of the Australian Open 2020, with reigning World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty winning her first-ever title on her home soil at the Adelaide International. The 23-year-old showed the right mindset in her finale clash against World No. 24 Dayana Yastremska and sailed to a straight-sets (6-2, 7-5) victory at Memorial Drive, Adelaide.

The 2019 French Open Champion ensured that she does not return empty-handed in her third WTA final in the Australian continent and looked determined from the get-go. Playing in the inaugural edition of the Adelaide International, Barty showed incredible form and got her first-ever WTA victory in her homeland.

The first set was a purely Barty show, with the 23-year-old girl from Queensland not allowing her 19-year-old opponent to get any strong footing in the match. In a matter of 30 minutes, the first set was wrapped up 6-2.

Into the second, Yastremska finally managed to provide some competition to Barty, but there was no stopping the World No. 1 from getting the better of the Ukrainian 7-5 in a swift second set. With that, both victory and history were scripted for Barty, who has enjoyed a stint as a cricketer early in her career.

With the Australian Open just around the corner, Ash Barty has let it known that she is in the right groove and will be entering the first Grand Slam of the year as the natural home favorite. A quarter-finalist at the 2019 edition of the Australian Open, she will surely hope to fare better this time around, now that she knows what it feels to win a Grand Slam. Having collected her first WTA title on home soil, Ash Barty has successfully issued a warning that she is more than ready for the Championships this time.