Home pressure is a concept of legendary status at the Australian Open. Just ask Sam Stosur. Or Lleyton Hewitt. Or Pat Rafter. Each and every year a new number is added to the same statistic. As long as 1978 gets a mention the picture is painted, the inglorious drought of Australia’s players at their home grand slam once again wrenched from the history books and hoisted about as high as that trophy might be had anyone actually won the thing recently.
Being 2022, it is now 44 years since Christine O’Neil did, on grass, at Kooyong. Ash Barty, of course, knows all of this. Her results of the past three years here read: quarter-final, semi-final, quarter-final. She too would have felt the infamous squeeze in her chest of an expectant country behind her.
