Barty a step closer to Wimbledon spot

Australian teenager Ashleigh Barty has closed in on a Wimbledon start after reaching the final stage of qualifying.

Barty beat Ukrainian Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-3 7-5 at Roehampton on Tuesday to move within one win of her second main draw appearance at the grass court grand slam.

The 18-year-old will face either Estonian Anett Kontaveit or Kazakhstan’s Sesil Karatantcheva for a chance to join compatriots Samantha Stosur, Casey Dellacqua and Jarmila Gajdosova at Wimbledon, starting on Monday.

Australia could have a large singles contingent at the All England Club with James Duckworth, Sam Groth, Luke Saville and Alex Bolt all bidding to join the men’s draw in final-round qualifying matches on Thursday.

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