Barty becomes first Aussie since Samantha Stosur in 2013 to reach world top 10
Sunday 31 March 2019 17:47, UK
Ashleigh Barty defeated Karolina Pliskova to win her maiden Miami Open title and become the first Australian woman since 2013 to crack the top 10 in the world rankings.
The 22-year-old struck a career-high 15 aces against the Czech to earn a fourth title with a 7-6 (7-1) 6-3 victory at Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday.
After dominating the first set tie-break, Barty broke the big-serving Pliskova in a 12-minute game to open the second set.
From there on the fatigued Czech, whose semi-final win over Simona Halep finished after 1 am local time earlier on Saturday due to rain delays, put up little resistance.
Barty, who reached the Australian Open quarter-finals in January, pumped her fists when Pliskova sent a forehand long on match point to hand her the biggest win of her career so far, which includes a $1.3m pay check.
We have the tennis season covered from all angles via our website skysports.com/tennis. On the move? Head to our app for mobile devices and iPad, or follow our Twitter account @SkySportsTennis to join in the conversation.
