All-conquering Ash Barty remains humble despite joining greats in exclusive club

And then there were five. More to the point, there are only five. To win a major on all three surfaces is a rarity. So rare, in fact, that the only current players to have achieved it before Saturday night’s Australian Open women’s singles final were Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

Now Ash Barty joins them, and that is where the list ends. Four all-time greats of the game holding 83 grand slam crowns between them, and one who has three on which to build.

Aside from Barty, Williams is the only other in this elite category to have the first three slams across clay, grass and hard courts. Perhaps it is a hint of things to come.

“I feel very humble to be in such a select group,” Barty said. “To be honest, I don’t really feel like I belong with those champions of our sport. I’m still very much learning and trying to refine my craft and try and learn every single day and get better and better.

“It’s amazing to be able to have this experience and this opportunity on three different surfaces and be really consistent across the board. Ultimately that was one of the biggest challenges that Jim [Joyce, her childhood coach] set out for me when I was young was to be a complete player and be really consistent across all surfaces and be able to play on all surfaces.”

It stands to reason that this confirms her versatility. Not only in her precise serve, backhand slices and driving groundstrokes, and her flexibility to change a point’s pace at will, but also her capacity to adapt to different conditions.

Danielle Collins acknowledged as much during the trophy presentation following her final loss. “I really admire you as a player and the variety of your game,” she said. “Hopefully I can implement some of