Ashleigh Barty experienced mixed emotions as she became the first Australian to secure the year-end No 1 ranking by the simple act of stepping on to Centre Court at the WTA Finals in Shenzhen. She left wondering what on earth had gone wrong after squandering a set-and-break lead to lose 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to the late replacement Kiki Bertens in a scrappy encounter.
“When you give a player of Kiki’s calibre a chance to get back into the match not once but twice, she’s going to make you pay,” Barty said. “That’s probably the most disappointing thing. Twice in the second set I was up a break and wasn’t able to consolidate.”
It was supposed to be a battle between two of the most prominent players of 2019 but Naomi Osaka was forced to withdraw from the tournament and her match with Barty after aggravating a right shoulder injury during her victory over Petra Kvitova on Sunday. It marked a bitter end to a turbulent season that was finishing on a high note after brilliant titles in Osaka and Beijing.
In stepped Bertens, the 10th-ranked Dutchwoman who has been on a mission in the final months of this year. After a disappointing US Open Bertens took a break from her coach and played as many tournaments as possible with the aim of qualifying directly for the WTA Finals.
The attempt seemed to have failed when Belinda Bencic secured the final spot by winning the Kremlin Cup in Moscow. Bertens had to settle for the WTA Elite Trophy in Zhuhai, the tournament for players ranked between ninth and 19th. As Bertens lost in the final on Sunday, Barty was preparing for her first match against Bencic in Shenzhen later that day.
Osaka’s withdrawal provided Bertens with an opportunity but she looked exhausted in the early exchanges and Barty took advantage, moving to a 6-3, 3-2 lead with a break in the second set. However, just as it seemed Barty was en route to certain victory, her game started to stutter and became caked in errors.
Bertens adjusted her tactics and began steaming forward to the net, smothering the Australian’s weaker backhand. Her improvement yielded eight games in a row to move up 3-6, 6-3, 4-0. Even as Barty stopped missing by feet, she resolutely served out the match to earn her first victory over the world No 1.
“It is a great atmosphere and it’s the last tournament of the year, so I’m trying to give all the energy I have left in me,” Bertens said. “In the beginning I wasn’t playing as well and had to feel the court, and got better and better as I tried to play aggressively and it turned out pretty well.”
In the second singles match of the day Bencic overcame Kvitova 6-3, 1-6, 6-4, her first WTA Finals win. Such is fate that after competing for the last Shenzhen spot all autumn Bertens and Bencic will face each other on Thursday and the winner is likely to reach the semi-finals.
The round-robin group format means all four players in the Red Group are still in with a chance of qualifying for the semi-finals.
Kyle Edmund beat Ricardas Berankis 6-4, 6-3 in the first round of the Paris Masters to secure his first win since August, ending an eight-match losing streak. It has been a difficult season for Edmund, who has fallen to 75th after starting the season ranked 14th. He will face the in-form Argentinian Diego Schwartzman, seeded 14th, in the second round.
