Ash Barty has continued her scorching start to the summer to surge into the Australian Open third round at Melbourne Park.
Australia’s world No.1 blitzed Italian qualifier Lucia Bonzetti 6-1 6-1 on Wednesday to extend her unbeaten run in 2022 to six matches.
Triumphant at the season-opening Adelaide International, Barty is showing no signs of any let-up.
Ranked 142nd in the world and featuring in the second round at a grand slam for the first time, Bronzetti was simply no match for the top seed and Open title favourite.
She won only seven points in the first five games before finally getting on the board.
But with Barty once again untouchable on serve, as she has been mostly all summer, Bronzetti never looked like making any inroads.
The Wimbledon champion, meanwhile, broke the Italian five times in securing another emphatic victory in only 52 minutes.
Having dispatched Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko 6-0 6-1 in the first round, Barty has dropped just three games and spent less than two hours on court en route to the last 32.
Barty opted to cut her glorious 2021 season short to prepare for the Australian summer and the decision to withdraw from the WTA Finals in November is now paying dividends.
She was quick to pay tribute to her trusted coach Craig Tyzzer for having her prepared perfectly for the Open.
“We are exactly where we are. I felt like we had a good preparation in Adelaide. We played well, played throughout tough matches,” Barty said.
“Craig Tyzzer is the master. He’s the absolute best in the business and I’m spoilt to have him in my team.
“I’m grateful he has the tactical knowledge and the communication and the way we talk to each other is incredible.
“I feel like our whole team works extremely well together. We’re enjoying our tennis and being able to produce some pretty good stuff.”
Barty plays another Italian next, 30th seed Camila Giorgi on Friday, for a place in the last 16 for the fourth-straight year.
“She’s an incredible ball striker, one of the most athletic girls out here,” Barty said.
“She’s not afraid to stand on the baseline and really put you under high pressure from the first strike.
“I will have to have my running shoes on, get the backhand slice out and bring in variation and see how it goes.”
AAP
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