As ever, Ash Barty the person was understated. And in customary style, Ash Barty the tennis player was ruthless. Another qualifier down, another round deeper into the Australian Open women’s singles draw. This time her victim was Lucia Bronzetti, an Italian ranked 142 places lower than the Australian world No 1. She snatched two games off the Wimbledon champion, which was one more than Lesia Tsurenko managed in the opener. But it is really splitting hairs when the scoreline ends at 6-1, 6-1.
This was as routine as it gets for Barty, a 52-minute stroll in the sun at Rod Laver Arena. She rolled out the wicked serve, the backhand slice and the top-spin forehand and calmly, almost quietly, slipped the win into her satchel she hopes will be full to the brim come the end of next week.
