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Barty vs. Vondrousova: Recap and Results from French Open 2019 Women's Final
June 8, 2019
Marketa Vondrousova was dominant throughout the French Open. But on Saturday against Ashleigh Barty, she was on the receiving end of a straight-sets defeat.
Barty defeated Vondrousova 6-1, 6-3 to claim her first career Grand Slam and became the first Australian woman to win the French Open women's singles title since Margaret Court in 1973.
Vondrousova hadn't lost a set through her first six matches at Roland-Garros this year, but that quickly changed against Barty, who broke Vondrousova on three of her service games in the first set en route to a quick victory.
It was much different from Barty's semifinal match, when she blew a 5-0 lead in a first set that she lost 6-7 (4-7) to Amanda Anisimova. Barty bounced back to win the next two sets 6-3, 6-3.
She also came back in the second set against Vondrousova, who took a 2-0 lead before Barty broke her on two of her service games on her way to victory. Vondrousova, a 19-year-old Czech, was the first teenage finalist at the French Open since Serbia's Ana Ivanovic in 2007.
While Vondrousova had an impressive run, this day ended up being about Barty, who had never made it past the fourth round of a Grand Slam tournament before reaching the quarterfinals at the Australian Open earlier this year. She played in 21 Grand Slam tourneys prior to that from 2011-18.
This time was different, and even with the pressure of playing in her first Grand Slam final, Barty appeared unfazed as she rolled past Vondrousova.
"It's unbelievable ... I played the perfect match today," Barty told reporters. "I am so proud of myself and my whole team. It has been a crazy two weeks. This is a special place for Australian players."
According to ESPN.com's Simon Cambers, Barty took an 18-month break from tennis from 2014-16 after some struggles, during which she took up professional cricket. But she has since returned to her original sport to much greater success.
"It was always the goal to come back and try and put myself in a position where I'm playing against the world's best and competing against the world's best," the 23-year-old Barty said ahead of the final, per Cambers. "But when I had my time off, I think it was just a gradual progression of missing the competition, missing what I loved. I love this sport, and I'm very lucky to be in the position I am now."
This may only be the start of Barty's Grand Slam success. According to ESPN, she will rise to the No. 2 spot in the WTA Rankings, which will be updated Monday.
Barty had a tremendous showing at the French Open, and it's easy to see how that could lead to more victories as she improves and her confidence continues to grow.