Golden girl Ash Barty is promising to “give it a crack” as she eyes one of the most elusive feats in tennis at the looming Tokyo Olympics.
Legends Suzanne Lenglen (1920), Steffi Graf (1988), Venus Williams (2000), Serena Williams (2012), Rafael Nadal (2008) and Andy Murray (2016) are the only players to ever complete the Wimbledon-Olympic double in the same season.
But fellow former prodigy Jelena Dokic believes not only can Barty reign at the Games but also pull off a rare career grand slam with victories at the US Open and Australian Open as well.
Barty’s life-changing 6-3 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 Wimbledon final triumph over Czech Karolina Pliskova has left the 25-year-old halfway towards the career slam following her 2019 French Open success.
Next up is the Tokyo Games starting on July 23 with the tennis getting under way from day two.
“I’m so excited to be a part of my first Olympic team and the Aussie team,” Barty said, cradling the Venus Rosewater Dish.
“We’re 480-strong and to be a part of that for the first time in what will be the most unique Olympic Games ever will be awesome.”
Asked if she could win gold, Barty said: “I’ll give it a crack, like everyone else will be, but I’ll certainly be giving it my all.”
Dokic, the only other Australian woman this century to reach the last four at Wimbledon, is urging Barty to cash in on her window of opportunity and add “many more grand slams” to her collection.
“She can win all four and being world No.1 we can see why – she’s the most consistent player out there,” Dokic told AAP.
“We talk about her skills so much but it’s this ability to control the nerves and play some of her best tennis when it really matters.
“That’s why I genuinely believe that she can win all four slams.
“You’ve had players come through that play really well on hard courts and some play better on clay, some player better on grass.
“But I feel like with Ash, she’s got so much variation in her game and she’s so versatile and she handles the pressure and the expectation and the moment so well, I definitely feel like she can now win on hard court as well and win all four slams.”
AAP
