A kindTen years ago, Shleigh Barty was 15 when she won the Junior Women’s Championship at Wimbledon. Such an early victory is wonderful, for many people the first major event of their careers, but there is no guarantee that it will be a very big game.
In the professional era for more than 50 years, there were only two winners in the All England Club. They not only won with small balls, but later also won with big balls. Martina Hingis With Emily Mauresmo. Some of my colleagues: Bjorn Borg, Pat Cash, Stefan Edberg and Roger Federer, who later won 16 extraordinary titles together, half of which were Swiss champion.
But back to Ashley BartyShe once said that it was really special to get this title ten years ago, but it was just a premonition. The Australian example fully shows that there is no straight path to the goal, it depends on how to overcome obstacles.
Just like three years after winning Wimbledon, when she felt lonely and at a loss on the tennis tour, she took great courage and decided to temporarily end the tennis chapter. Instead, she played cricket for the Brisbane Heat women’s team for two years and found the joy of the sport again. After that, she felt strong enough to return to the tennis court and immediately won nine of her first eleven games.
“Never lost faith in me”
This was indeed a brave decision made by Ash Barty at the time, thinking Angelique KerberWho will face the Australians in the semifinals at 2:30 this Thursday. In difficult times, can she imagine letting go of the bat for a period of time to sort out herself and relive feelings?
Well, she said, not exactly. “Last year, I didn’t play for several months, but I wanted to stop until I felt better. These ideas never came up. Of course, it was not an easy time, but I never lost confidence in myself and my team. Now I have reached the semi-finals and the journey is not over yet.”
And she has been on the road for a long time. One year after Batty won the girls’ junior group, Angelique Korbel participated in the major semifinals for the first time, but her friend Agnieska Radwanska from Poland won. She remembered her good game in 2012, she was proud of them and thought: Well, this is actually the beginning of the journey. This is her second semi-final in a Grand Slam tournament after the U.S. Open the previous year.
But it’s all a long time ago, and now it’s about the great prospects of the next attempt and the third time to land in the tournament finals. “A lot of things have happened in recent years, I just look forward to it, and I am very grateful for the opportunity again,” she said. The things and experiences you have to do temporarily become more and more important. This is the way of life, isn’t it?
Wimbledon has always been Batty’s dream
Ashleigh Barty was equally happy. She said that winning Wimbledon has always been her dream, but it took her a long time to gather the courage to talk about this dream loudly and let everyone hear it. “But this is exactly what I want, and I work for it.” Since her debut on the French tennis court two years ago, she also knows what it feels like to win a Grand Slam championship.
A few weeks ago, when she had to retire in the second round due to a hip injury, she did not perform well in Paris, and it is questionable whether she will be able to participate in Wimbledon again. She has not participated in any pre-season grass competitions, but has trained in the All England Club, so far she seems to be pretty good. She only lost one set in the first round, especially in the round of 16 against French Open champion Barbora Krečkova. She was both combative and convincing.
Barty and Kerber agreed that from the four games they have played together so far, no conclusion can be drawn about the fifth game. The last time was three years ago. Since then, these cards have been reshuffled several times, all about the here and now and the thoughts related to it. Batty said that the prospects for this semi-final are neither terrible nor overwhelming, but exciting.
Exciting because it is a challenge to play against someone who is comfortable on the court and knows how to win the game. Neither of them lacks courage, and Angelique Kerber is very positive about it. “A person should always have courage in life, rather than being led by fear. I think this is really what I have learned in recent years. Fear is the enemy of each of us.” This is an exciting game and a head-up. The best prerequisite for meeting.
