Shock exit: Ash Barty’s classy response as her Wimbledon dream is crushed
Ash Barty is choosing to remain positive after a surprising loss against free-swinging American Alison Riske.
The beloved Aussie tennis star’s dream of winning back-to-back grand slams has taken a hit after the world No. 55 brought an end to Barty’s incredible 15-match unbeaten run.
The world number 1 fell 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 on Monday and has taken her loss graciously, saying she had “absolutely no regrets.”
“We’ve planned our days and prepared as best that we can. Today wasn’t my day,” Barty said.
“I didn’t win a tennis match. It’s not the end of the world. It’s a game. I love playing the game. I do everything in my power to try and win every single tennis match. But that’s not the case.
“It’s disappointing right now. Give me an hour or so, we’ll be all good. The sun’s still going to come up tomorrow.
There's the backhand slice working to perfection for Ash Barty already 👌#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/9Pgb94MhWb
— 7Sport (@7Sport) July 8, 2019
Karolina Pliskova will take the title as world No. 1 if she reaches the semi-finals this week.
“It’s out of my control,” the Queensland star said of her ranking.
“We’ve done absolutely everything. I’m so proud of myself and my team over the last six to eight weeks. We’ve had an incredible trip, incredible couple of months.
“If Karolina plays some good tennis, gets to that, then she’ll deserve it. No fighting that.”
Barty paid homage to Riske who had undertaken an extra four hours on court than the Australian in order to get this far.
“You just have to look at her stats on a grass court to show just how dangerous she is. She’s very comfortable on the grass court. It complements her game well,” Barty said.
“In the crunch moments, she came up with her best tennis. When her back is against the wall, she plays really well typically. She did that today. All credit to her.
“She deserves to be in the quarter-finals.”
The Aussie tennis star will return to her home in Brisbane for some well-deserved rest before kicking off in her American hardcourt campaign in Montreal starting from August 5.
“It’s also important to really celebrate what we’ve been able to achieve over the last eight weeks. It’s been an extremely positive time for me and my team,” she said.
“Go and rest and recover with the family back home, then switch focus back to the hard courts.
“In the US, which I love that time of year, I love getting back over to the summertime there.
“I have some really good memories from last year. We go back, we knuckle down, train again, then we go again.”