Throwing off the burden of 44 years of history with a little help from the crowd, Ash Barty rose to the occasion in the Australian Open final
he cameras follow her every move, close to 100 lenses all expertly trained almost singularly on the star of this show. Court-side, the photo pit is full to the brim, its occupants either sat on chairs or crouched on their haunches, each with their assigned sliver of space through which to document their protagonist.
Such occasions have come and gone more than once over the past 44 years. Barty herself has tried and failed. Never before, though, has she made it to the final. Now she is here, having steamrolled every opponent in her path. Everyone in the country says she is unstoppable, and she might even know she is. But the stadium lights feel even brighter than usual and the thought of her losing feels darker. Everyone, basically, is a little bit twitchy.
Barty wins the opening set to a stadium-wide standing ovation. Russell Crowe nods in approval from the front row. The Barty Vegemite T-shirt crew are out in force. Australian flags are plentiful. Between them are Aboriginal flags, a nod to the player’s heritage and the importance of this one, single opportunity. Cathy Freeman is here and knows this, almost 22 years after she managed a similarly beautiful achievement.
Collins has her break, and then a 4-1 advantage. She flexes a biceps. If the crowd won’t pump her up she’ll do it herself. The 28-year-old is used to fighting, to overcoming illness and injury and all the pain that comes with it. Something is awry in the home camp. Is this thecurse the statisticians keep talking about? Can all these strangers in their seats do enough on their own to help exercise these demons? If only Evonne Goolagong Cawley was here.
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