Ashleigh Barty admits that she did not watch this season’s Australian Open final between Naomi Osaka and Jennifer Brady on the grounds that she is not a tennis observer.
The world number 1 stated that he only cares about building a long-running rivalry with the player who has now won four Grand Slam titles, Osaka, if that means they will meet and compete in big moments as well as prestigious tournaments.
The Australian national’s challenge at the Australian Open this season ended in a quarter-final loss to Czech Karolina Muchova, while Osaka beat Serena Williams in the semifinals before knocking out Williams’ compatriot Brady at the top, earning her a second Australian Open title. in his career.
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However, the champion of the 2019 French Open meant that Osaka had to work hard to return to world number 1, as the ranking points between the two players were largely influenced by the ranking points system implemented in the last two seasons.
“There is no extra pressure. The extra pressure doesn’t exist for me. I just try to play my game and training sessions and my processes in the right way to get things working well for me and my team,” said Ashleigh Barty.
“And what really matters to us is we do it in the right way and make the right decisions for the right reasons, then we’ll sleep well regardless of what happens next.”
“I can’t control what other people do. For tournaments or rankings, it’s all out of my control.”
“As for the points defended, I think that’s a negative way to look at it. Obviously I came back to the tournament knowing that I had success at the tournament, that I had good memories there.”
The two players are only a year and a half apart, so at least they could potentially meet in the next decade, but according to the world number 1, it is still a long way to go.
“I’ve only competed against him on a few occasions. We haven’t faced each other that much,” added Barty, whose head to head draw against Osaka with a 2-2 draw and the 2021 Australian Open winners won their last encounter in Beijing in 2019.
“Of course it all depends on how the match draws in the tournament. So, hopefully I’ll get a chance to compete against him in some big moments, in prestigious tournaments.”
“It’s the thing we dream of, trying to put yourself in a position to win prestigious titles. So maybe it will happen someday, but for now, it’s not something that stresses me out.”
