As big as the changes have been to her life in the last year, for Ashleigh Barty it’s as much about the small things.
Barty has kept the same coach in Craig Tyzzer, has largely tried to conduct herself in the same way and is considered to be the same popular and well-grounded person she’s always been.
The 15th seed going into the 2019 Australian Open, she was dominated by Petra Kvitova in their quarter-final as the Czech went 4-0 in their head-to-head meetings.
Nine months later and things had gone nuclear, Barty winning four titles over that time including the French Open while rising to No.1 in the world.
Barty played Kvitova another three times over that period and won them all.
On Tuesday she’ll have a chance to square the ledger at four apiece when they meet in a rematch of their last-eight showdown from 2019.
Asked about what had changed since then against Kvitova, Barty was understandably reluctant to go into specifics but she suggested it wasn’t actually all that much.
“More experience,” she said.
“I’ve played Petra a few more times. Tactically the last few times we’ve played Petra, we’ve had a small, small adjustment, small change. It’s never an easy match. I think maybe all but one have gone to three sets.
“I think I’m looking forward to another battle against a quality opponent.”
Ranked seventh at Melbourne Park, Kvitova has had a lean run against top players of late, going 1-6 in her last seven matches against top ten opponents. It’s now been more than a year since she beat someone in the top five.
Barty is 5-2 from her last seven top ten matches and had three top five wins over the corresponding period to Kvitova.
From Kvitova’s end, there’s nothing but respect for the Queenslander, the former world No.2 admiring not only what she has done on court but how she handles herself off it.
“I think Ash is great. She has to have such big pressure on her. She’s dealing with it like probably nobody else. That’s really something, why she is deserving to be No.1 and has won a grand slam,” Kvitova said.
“It will be great match anyway. Sharing court with her, it’s always a pleasure. Doesn’t matter what the score will be, but it will be nice.”
