On Sunday, the ATP Finals will begin in London. It should be very tight, all eight of them, with Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, including with the rising Daniil Medvedev.
But in November 3, Ash Barty won the WTA Final. Now, we all knew that the Australian would finish the year at No. 1. She was pretty safe. But to actually win it, the entire thing, that was a little bit surprising. That is not because she has turned into a great player, but because she was tired, coming into the tournament.
For a player who is a runner, you mudt be fast, but to be super fast, you have to be healthy. When Barty arrived, she said she was feeling better, and when she steps on the court, she started to move just fine. The Aussie has played a lot, in the singles and the doubles, during 2019. A number of women become injured, and then they pulled out. Frequently. But not Barty, who just wants to play tennis, almost everyday. Some women and men play way too much, when they are practicing. That is why over the past 25 years — or more — dozens of people get injured, and they have to stop, for a long time.
At this point, the 23-year-old Barty can stay No. 1 in 2020 for a while, but she is not way up there. She did win Roland Garros this year, which was fantastic, but only one at the Grand Slams. She will definitely have a huge shot to win the Australian Open in January, but there is a lot of pressure in Melbourne, with all of the Aussies. An Aussie man hasn’t won it since 1972, when Mark Edmondson grabbed it. The talented Aussie woman, Chris O’Neil, won it in 1978. That is 41 years ago, which is a very long time.
It is totally different with various countries. Barty can play the hardcourts, which was obvious when she won the WTA Finals in China. She beat Belinda Bencic, Petra Kvitova, Karolina Pliskova and Elena Svitolina. All of them went down. Barty just loves the hardcourts. However, back home, she can be stressed in January. But Barty is very determined.
Now, will the other No. 1, Nadal, do the exactly same thing? He is 630 points above Djokovic, which is somewhat far, but he has to win a couple matches in London, rather than winning it all. But Nadal wants to. He always push himself. He, Djokovic and Federer always do that, which is why they have combined to win 55 Grand Slams. That people, it is mind blowing.