Australia’s Ashleigh Barty on Saturday became the new Wimbledon ladies’ singles champion after she defeated Karolina Pliskova in three sets 6-3 6-7 (4-7) 6-3. This is the first time the women’s singles final had stretched to three sets since 2012.
Barty won the first set convincingly but lost the second set in a tie-breaker. The Australian bounced back in the third set by breaking her opponent early and never lost the lead till the end.
This was the first-ever Wimbledon final for both the players. Speaking after the match, Barty broke down as she said, “I didn’t sleep a lot last night. I was thinking of all the what-ifs. I hope I made Evonne proud.
“I have to thank every single person in this stadium. You’ve made my dream so special.”
Pliskova too was in tears when she said, “I never cry, never, and now…
“I want to say Ash played an incredible tournament. I fought to make it difficult for her but she played very well so congrats to her and her team.
“I want to thank all my team. All the success goes to them, without them I would not be here, and my family of course. No matter which trophy I have we have had an incredible three weeks here.”
In the men’s singles final, Novak Djokovic will face Italy’s Matteo Berrettini on Sunday.