Barty Defeats Plíšková in Wimbledon Final for Second Grand Slam Title

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Ashleigh Barty got off to a perfect start in the Wimbledon final by collecting the first 14 points, then needed to hold off a comeback bid before beating Karolína Plíšková 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-3 on Saturday for her second Grand Slam title.

The top-seeded Barty adds this championship to her French Open title in 2019.

She is the first Australian woman to win the singles trophy at the All England Club since Evonne Goolagong Cawley in 1980. Barty says she has been inspired by Goolagong Cawley and wore an outfit at Wimbledon that was a tribute to the dress Goolagong Cawley played in when she won the tournament for the first time in 1971.

Barty, who is 25, was the junior champion at Wimbledon a decade ago, then left the tennis tour for nearly two years in 2014 because of burnout. She played professional cricket back home, then eventually decided to return to her other sport.

Good call.

She was at her best at the beginning of each set against the eighth-seeded Plíšková, a 29-year-old from the Czech Republic with a big serve.

Plíšková dropped to 0-2 in major finals; she was the runner-up at the 2016 U.S. Open, too.

Barty’s most significant wobble came late in the second set. She served for the victory ahead 6-5 but sailed consecutive forehands long to get broken, then was shaky in the ensuing tiebreaker, which she ceded with a double-fault.

In the third, though, Barty went up on an early break, led 3-0 and stayed the course in the first Wimbledon women’s final to go three sets since 2012. It was also the first since 1977 that the championship was played between two participants who had never made it that far at the All England Club.

Neither Barty nor Plíšková made it past the fourth round at the grass-court major until this fortnight.