The female Federer: Why Barty can make history at the Australian Open | smhsport
Barty will face Alison Riske on Rod Laver Arena on Sunday night and with Serena Williams and Karolina Pliskova out of the tournament earlier than expected, the Australian has firmed into favouritism with bookmakers. That favouritism is justified according to Alexander, who likened Barty to Federer due to her all-round game.‘‘She’s a great player. She actually reminds me of a female version of Federer – she’s the complete player,’’ Alexander said.
Alexander hadn’t seen Barty play live until recently and was pleasantly surprised by the world No.1’s concentration throughout matches.‘‘I didn’t pick this up on TV, but watching her live, she has to be one of the most intense players on the court that I’ve ever seen,’’ Alexander said. ‘‘That surprised me because off the court, you won’t come across a sweeter person. She has the sweetest personality you will ever see. You never hear a bad word about her.
Balestrat was part of a golden era for Australian women’s tennis, which took the success of Margaret Court in the late 1960s and early 1970s and ran with it. Balestrat was always competing with Evonne Goolagong, Helen Gourlay, Wendy Turnbull and Chris O’Neil – the last Australian to win the tournament, in 1978 – for a place in the second week of her home grand slam.‘‘I guess players come and go through different decades,’’ Balestrat said.
Balestrat said the key to dealing with the pressure of making a run at a player’s home grand slam is all about the team around the individual. ‘‘If you have a good team around you, they can take the pressure off,’’ she said. ‘‘She’s improved over the last year or so and I know she lost to last time they met but she has improved a lot since then. She seems quite relaxed to me – and she seems to be enjoying her tennis. Hopefully we see her playing this time next weekend.’’
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