was a case of ‘anything you can do’ in front of a 13,109-strong crowd at the RAC Arena, as Kristina Mladenovic’s 6-1 6-1 drubbing of Australian debutant Ajla Tomljanovic was followed by Ashleigh Barty’s 6-0 6-0 victory over Caroline Garcia, the first win by that cleanest of scorelines in a Fed Cup final and a performance Barty described in the immediate aftermath as “probably the best match I've played in my life.”
While she wouldn't be drawn further on where the historic win ranked in a season that already includes a Grand Slam title and her ascent to the No.1 ranking, Barty played down the significance of the scoreline but revelled in a pitch-perfect performance in green and gold.
“Certainly from a complete point of view, having a complete game, I felt like I served really well, I made a lot of returns – that was always going to be key – and most importantly I played the big points well,” said Barty, playing in Australia as the world No.1 for the first time.
“I served particularly well early on – in the first three or four of my service games I was in control of the points and Caro is a player who likes court position, she likes to be up in the court, so that was a key factor for me. That’s also probably the best I’ve returned in a long time.”
She will need something similar when she faces Mladenovic in Sunday’s opening match, knowing the winner gives their nation two shots at clinching the Fed Cup in 2019. The Frenchwoman was ruthless in the first match of the final, capitalising on Ajla Tomljanovic’s stage-fright to post a 6-1 6-1 victory in 72 minutes.
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