FShareTTweetQSMSWWhatsAppBEmailGJTumblrLLinkedIn9 hours ago
Ash Barty s parents, Josie and Rob, are the unsung heroes behind her Wimbledon victory - a fact brought home in heartbreaking fashion by Jelena Dokic.
Barty had a loving upbringing in which she was encouraged, not forced, towards becoming a tennis champion. She was taught to be a good person, first and foremost, rather than worry about trophies, fame and fortune.
Dokic had the opposite experience. She suffered abhorrent abuse at the hands of her father, Damir, who demanded success and was willing to extract it through tyranny. I just want to get this out before I fall apart, Dokic said on Nine, having watched Barty lift Wimbledon s Venus Rosewater Dish the previous night.
Former tennis champion Jelena Dokic has fought back tears while reliving Australian women s world number one Ashleigh Barty s Wimbledon triumph.
Barty, 25, is the new queen of Wimbledon after beating World No.13 Karolina Pliskova in an epic three-set final to claim her second grand slam title on Saturday.
Heartwarming vision of Barty s parents Rob and Josie celebrating their youngest daughter s title win back home in Queensland sparked a lump in Dokic s throat during Channel Nine s tennis coverage the next night.
Dokic, a former Wimbledon semi-finalist, was choked up with emotion as she paid tribute to Barty s supportive parents.
The former world number four had a different upbringing where she allegedly suffered horrific abuse at the hands of controlling father Damir during the early stages of her tennis career.
Ash Barty hopes her Wimbledon triumph will create a legacy for young sporting dreamers in Australia in the same way that Evonne Goolagong Cawley s triumphs blazed a trail for her.
Fifty years since Wiradjuri woman Goolagong Cawley first won the Venus Rosewater Dish at Wimbledon, Barty - a proud Ngarigo woman - felt all the stars had aligned and a circle had been connected as she achieved her own breakthrough triumph against Karolina Pliskova on the same Centre Court.
As she addressed the Centre Court crowd, wearing her own version of the scalloped dress that the teenage Goolagong Cawley had worn here back in 1971, Barty was moved to tears, saying: I hope I made Evonne proud.
2021/07/11 15:47 Australia s Ashleigh Barty poses with the trophy for the media after winning the women s singles final, defeating the Czech Republic s Karolina Plisko. Australia s Ashleigh Barty poses with the trophy for the media after winning the women s singles final, defeating the Czech Republic s Karolina Pliskova on day twelve of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Saturday, July 10, 2021. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) Australia s Ashleigh Barty reacts after defeating the Czech Republic s Karolina Pliskova in the women s singles final on day twelve of the Wimbledon T. Australia s Ashleigh Barty reacts after defeating the Czech Republic s Karolina Pliskova in the women s singles final on day twelve of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Saturday, July 10, 2021. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Goolagong Cawley saw champion potential in Barty years ago
By DENNIS PASSAJuly 11, 2021 GMT
BRISBANE, Australia (AP) Evonne Goolagong Cawley stayed up well past her usual bedtime on Saturday night. Not that she minded being tired when she woke up all-too-early on Sunday morning: her friend and protege Ash Barty was the new Wimbledon champion.
Barty completed a 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-3 win over Karolina Pliskova in the women’s singles final at the All England Club on Saturday. It was just past 1 a.m. Sunday on Australia’s east coast when the match ended and Goolagong Cawley and her husband, Roger Cawley, may have woken up the neighbors with their noisy reaction at their home on the Sunshine Coast, north of Brisbane.