Ashleigh Barty has crashed out of the US Open with a fourth-round shocker at Flushing Meadows.
Australia’s big title hope floundered in a sea of unforced errors, succumbing 6-2 6-4 loss to Qiang Wang in one hour and 22 minutes on Sunday.
World No.18 Wang was the highest-ranked rival Barty had played since the French Open semi-finals two months ago – and she was simply unable to rise to the occasion.
Formerly coached by Australian Davis Cup winner, the late Peter McNamara, Wang was like the Great Wall of China, her relentless defence and counter-punching driving Barty mad.
The second seed’s numbers told the story, Barty committing 39 unforced errors in 18 games and unable to convert any of nine break-point chances.
“I was very focused on court. I just tried to hit aggressive on court and just do my best,” Wang said herself making only 14 errors in the match.
There was no sign of what was to come when Barty rocketed down an ace to hold her opening service game to love.
But three successive unforced errors handed Wang the first break of the match in the third game, before Barty gifted her opponent the double break with four more baseline blunders in the fifth game.
When Barty sliced another backhand long, Wang had pocketed the opening set in half an hour.
The writing was on the wall when Barty dropped serve for a fourth time, from 40-15 up on this occasion, in the first game of the second set.
From 1-3, love-30 down, Barty held to give herself a glimmer of hope.
She had Wang down 15-40 in both the eighth and 10th games – but couldn’t convert the pressure into the desperately needed break to stay in the match.
Barty bravely saved three match points, but not a fourth as Wang celebrated the biggest win of her career.
The 27-year-old could face Serena Williams next after Barty, as at Wimbledon, once again fell a win short of a potential grand slam quarter-final showdown with the 23-times major champion.
Wang was happy enough to savour this victory first.
“I just want to enjoy now and my coach will tell me how to play next,” Wang said after reversing her loss to Barty in last year’s season-ending title match in Zhuhai.
“I think that’s my coach’s homework.”
