Ash Barty tears through opening round of Australian Open
World No.1 Ash Barty has raced into the second round of the Australian Open after dismantling Montenegrin Danka Kovinic 6-0 6-0 in 44 minutes.
It was inch-perfect from the Aussie, who hit the ground running from the first point and boxed out her rival in an at times difficult display to watch.
Barty only dropped four points in the first set, winning the first 16 points of the match to lead 4-0 before her rival had even found the scoreboard.
It was the first time in her career that she recorded a double bagel (6-0 6-0) at Grand Slam level.
“The competitor in me missed what this is all about.
“That’s what I missed the most – coming out here and really enjoying the thrill of the fight.
“We’ve got crowds, that’s the bonus of the next few weeks, we’ve got people to enjoy it with us and that’s the best part about it.
Barty will await the winner of tonight’s clash between Aussie Daria Gavrilova and Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo in the second round.
Her 44-minute win was a whisker shy of the 32-minute record for the fastest grand slam victory ever.
