Said Sharapova, “I let her control the points a little bit. Got into longer rallies, which I think off of the backhand she had a great slice out there today. That stayed quite low in the conditions. And I didn't do enough with that ball. I usually like that ball.”
Yet in that third set, but one finger on the ledge, Sharapova demonstrated what makes her an incredible competitor. Through injuries and exile, controversy and descent, return and resurrection, Sharapova’s tenacity never lets her down. Never mind if your serve betrays you. Never mind if you decline to come in on repeated short balls. Never mind a crowd that booed Sharapova’s return from a toilet break she took after the second set. Never mind anything except the need to smack that ball into a corner.
“Maria was never going to go away,” said Barty. “Proven champion. Time and time again it proves she will fight until the last point.”
On the last two points of that 0-4 game, Sharapova snapped off a wide ace and an emphatic forehand. Then she broke Barty at 30. Serving now at 2-4, she fighting off another break point, in the third deuce of the game, Sharapova won the point of the match—one of the best of the tournament—in a delicious, 21-ball rally. Twice in this rally, Sharapova made remarkable retrievals of Barty drives to the forehand, the Russian hoisting up excellent defensive lobs, eventually extracting a missed Barty backhand (watch out when that slice gets tight). Sharapova closed it out with a forehand swing volley. For all Sharapova's tactical and technical limitations, in pressure moments she can come up with amazing shots.
Barty served at 4-3 and soon went down 15-40. To think that just minutes before, Barty was one point away from a 5-0 lead. The tennis scoring system: genius and madness. All that effort, boiled down to such a thin edge. Here now, though, Barty came up with an excellent serve that elicited an easy backhand that she knifed down the line for a winner. At 30-40, Barty scampered around the court just well enough to coax a backhand error from Sharapova. An ace down the T and another service winner brought the crowd to its feet.
“I thought she played some brilliant tennis in part of the match,” said Sharapova.
Much as the Aussies would have loved for their girl to close it out at 3-5, they also enjoy the elemental tussle that accompanies serving for a match. Of course, Sharapova held. Happiness at any Slam is earned, not handed to you.
Barty went ahead 30-love, then 40-15. Sharapova, true to herself, always true to herself, laced a forehand winner. Barty double-faulted. An ace at deuce for match point number three. Another Barty forehand error. The energy in the crowd was fantastic. At deuce, yet again, the Barty slice slithered its way crosscourt. Sharapova, apparently weary as she addressed the ball in an open stance, lined it into the net. Match point number four—and who wants to let more vanish versus a player like Sharapova? This time, right down the T, at 107 mph, a stylish, bending ace that seemed to take the line right with it.
The Barty playing style is like none currently in women’s tennis—refreshing and eclectic, agile and athletic.
“I love to play with freedom and fun and try and create as much variety as possible,” she said. “Obviously my game is built around my serve and forehand and bringing in a variety with the slice. But there are no secrets in tennis. I think every day I try and challenge myself to add another string to my bow in a sense and try and become the complete player.”
Just over a week ago, Barty lost to her next opponent, Petra Kvitova in the finals of Sydney, a scintillating match that Kvitova won in a third-set tiebreaker. Here’s hoping their battle Tuesday will be every bit as dramatic.
