Hurricane Ash Barty storms into third round as New York mops up

By Stuart MillerUpdated September 3, 2021 â€" 9.08amfirst published at 3.43am

New York: On Monday, the US Open welcomed crowds back for the first time since 2019 with much fanfare and excitement.

On Wednesday, the city and the tournament were thrown into turmoil as the remnants of Hurricane Ida battered the region. At least 20 people were killed in the metropolitan area and more than 100,000 lost power, while the rain wreaked havoc by causing massive flooding on the streets, highways and subways. At the Open, many matches were suspended, and some employees were stuck until 2.30am. when the worst of the storm subsided.

Thursday began with mass transit still a mess, abandoned cars littering the streets and a monstrous snarl of traffic just outside the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Inside, some matches started late and some food vendors were still shuttered at noon; only a few hundred people even made it inside Arthur Ashe Stadium for the start of play.

But on the court, Ash Barty, implacable and unruffled, has brought a much-needed sense of normalcy. In other words, while chaos reigned all around, Barty serenely marched to her 14th straight tour victory, experiencing just a minor speed bump along the way.

“The storm was pretty devastating and I was just trying to grasp what was happening here and hoping people from the site were able to get home safely,” Barty said after her straight-sets win on Thursday (Friday AEST) over Clara Tauson, a six-foot tall 18-year-old from Denmark. “It took us a while to get here this morning but we had expected it to be a longer commute.”

Tauson has strong but erratic groundstrokes and power on her first serve (though her compact, almost rigid motion, may constrain it). She was no match for Barty, who cut down on the double faults that frustrated her in the opening round and in the first set found the rhythm on the two-handed backhand that had proven elusive in that first match, although she said afterward that her strategy was still to rely more heavily on the slice.

Ashleigh Barty returns te ball to Clara Tauson during their second round match.Credit:AP

“My tactic is to bring in the slice as much as possible,” she said. “It doesn’t work every time but over time that repetitive motion making your opponent have to get down and reach the ball is effective.”

And, of course, Barty’s serve and forehand were ultimately the decisive factors. She held at love in the first game as Tauson scattered her forehands. But the teen settled in on her first service game and showed real grit in fighting off nine break points. Still, for Barty, the 10th time was the charm.

There were no fist pumps or shouts when Barty finally pulled out it â€" “absolutely, I keep my emotions close to the chest,” she said afterward â€" she just went about her business … which meant another easy hold and another break and another hold at love, punctuated by a beautiful backhand volley and ace.

Up 5-0, Barty’s focus faltered just a bit. Tauson struggled her way to her first service hold and then had Barty at 30-0 after the Australian blew two backhand approach shots. But Barty evened things up with a swinging forehand volley and an ace and after just 34 minutes she had notched the first set, 6-1.

“My tennis hasn’t been as clean as it was at Wimbledon but I am going back onto the practice court tomorrow. And then I get to play again.”

Ash Barty

Tauson steadied herself in the second set and even broke Barty in the second game to even the set at 1-1. The players then remained on serve for the next four games but Barty still felt in command, as Tauson had to work hard to win her serves while Barty, for instance, won the set’s sixth game at love, finishing it with two straight aces.

By this point, Tauson had taken the measure of the slice enabling her to stay in rallies and even shift to offence more often. And while Tauson’s body language frequently revealed her to be flustered and frustrated, she never qut, even after Barty, who finished with more than twice the number of winners as Towson, produced a three ace game (including one on a second serve) to take a 5-3 lead.

Tauson held and then forced three break points, finally converting after a weak Barty lob to make it 5-5. But one reason Barty is a grand Ssam champion is her ability to put rough patches quickly behind her.

“It’s a conscious thought process to make changes when things aren’t going right,” she said. “A couple of times I was disappointed with my service games but I responded straight away, narrowing my focus and trusting myself to hit out.”

Barty will next face either American Shelby Rogers or Sorana Cirstea of Romania.Credit:Getty

She quickly broke Tauson right back before holding serve to finish off her challenger, 6-1, 7-5 in just 90 minutes.

While she acknowledged that it was “tricky to navigate through the second set,” she was not worried about getting broken while serving for the match for the second straight round, telling a reporter, “You guys can write about it as much as you like but it’s not a concern for me. There are a few wins where its happened but plenty where it hasn’t.”

Barty, who will next face either 43-ranked Shelby Rogers (whom Barty has beaten in all five matches) or 39th-ranked Sorana Cirstea (whom she has not played). Regardless, Barty will not take her opponent lightly.

“Each and every round is a test,” she said. “I don’t come into a tournament with any expectation and don’t feel entitled. Whether it’s a first round or a final my preparation doesn’t change. You have to earn those wins. My tennis hasn’t been as clean as it was at Wimbledon but I am going back onto the practice court tomorrow. And then I get to play again.”

Jordan Thompson was unable to convert a golden opportunity against Aslan Karatsev.Credit:Getty

Elsewhere, 11th seed Belinda Bencic, of Switzerland, overcame Italian Martina Trevisan 6-3, 6-1, while 17th seed Maria Sakkari, of Greece, beat Czech Katerina Siniakova 6-4, 6-2.

Russian Varvara Gracheva and Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit also won through to the next round.

British teenager Emma Raducanu also advanced in style with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over China’s Zhang Shuai.

Alexander Zverev, the men’s runner-up last year, moved into the third round with a straight-sets win over Albert Ramos-Vinolas.

Australia’s Jordan Thompson surrendered a two-set lead and twice had tie-breakers to defeat Russian 21st seed Aslan Karatsev to fall 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 7-6 (11-9), 6-1.

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