Sunday 23 June 2019 20:32, UK
Ashleigh Barty will become the new world No 1 after she continued her excellent form to defeat Julia Goerges in the final of the Nature Valley Classic in Birmingham.
The 23-year-old beat world No 19 Goerges 6-3 7-5 to follow Evonne Goolagong Cawley, who spent two weeks as world No 1 in 1976, as just the second Australian woman to hold the top spot in the rankings.
Barty, who will overtake Naomi Osaka on Monday, was pushed hard by her doubles partner but extended her winning streak to 12 consecutive matches, following her maiden Grand Slam title at the French Open.
"I'm a little bit speechless at the moment," said Barty, who stepped away from the tour following the 2014 US Open.
"It's been a whirlwind few weeks for me, a whirlwind year, but to be able to follow in the footsteps of Evonne, even to be mentioned in the same sentence as her is incredible.
"What she's done for our sport, for Australians all around the world, she's put us on the map and what she's done for indigenous Australians as well has just been remarkable.
"It's not something that was even in my realm, this year we were aiming for top 10"
"You always dream of it [being world No 1] as a little kid, but for it to become a reality is incredible. It's not something that was even in my realm, this year we were aiming for top 10 and now to be where we are is a testament to all of the people around me.
"We started from scratch three-and-a-half years ago without a ranking and now to be where we are is not only for me, but a massive, massive achievement for them."
She is also just the third player this decade to win the Birmingham title without losing a set, joining Sabine Lisicki in 2011 and Ana Ivanovic in 2014, underlining why she is viewed as a favourite for Wimbledon next month.
Barty, a runner-up in Birmingham in 2017, saved two break points in her opening service game before she broke Goerges in the sixth game on her way to winning the first set.
Goerges reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon last year and gained the initiative as she broke Barty's serve in the second game of the second set, but her in-form opponent regained parity by breaking back three games later.
Barty, who had lost to Goerges when the pair met in the last 16 in Birmingham last year, then saved a set point in the 10th game with an ace before breaking the German immediately afterwards before she served out for victory to love.
Elsewhere, American 20-year-old Sofia Kenin saved three match points on her way to beating third seed Belinda Bencic 6-7 (2-7) 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 in the Mallorca Open final.
