Ash Barty beats Collins to end 44-year wait for home Australian Open winner

Ash Barty has become the first Australian to win their home Open in 44 years after beating the 27th seeded American Danielle Collins 6-3, 7-6(2) at Melbourne Park.

The No 1 seed Barty has been in imperious form throughout the tournament and she dominated the early exchanges in the final on Rod Laver Arena, forcing Collins into errors as she took the first set comfortably. But the American soon turned up the power and Barty’s record of having gone through the tournament without losing a set was heavily threatened when she trailed 5-1 in the second. However, the Australian rallied brilliantly to secure two breaks and recover to win the tie-break in dominant fashion to complete her coronation as champion.

It is the 25-year-old’s third grand slam, following on from her French Open win in 2019 and last year’s Wimbledon title, but not since Chris O’Neil in 1978 has a home crowd had the pleasure of watching an Australian win a slam in Melbourne and they certainly lapped it up.

Tumaini Carayol’s report from Melbourne Park to follow …