World No1 Ash Barty throws down NINE double faults in nightmare serving display but still reaches Wimbledon third round
WORLD No1 Ashleigh Barty made the third round – despite her serve being on the blink.
The Aussie hit NINE double faults but still managed to see off Russian Anna Blinkova 6-4 6-3 in 90 minutes.
It was a nervy performance from 2019 French Open winner Barty, who also only found the target with 53 per cent of her first serves.
The former junior Wimbledon champ said: “It was not my best serving today.
“But that happens. I felt like I was just out of rhythm a little bit. A few technical things weren’t quite feeling spot on.
“You have those days where some days you feel like you’re eight-foot tall and can’t miss the box.
“Other days you feel like you’re three-foot-nothing, just getting over the net is a bit of a battle.
“We just go back to work. It’s certainly nothing that will concern me over a longer period.”
Blinkova, a keen chess player as a kid, outmanoeuvred Barty at times on her first outing on tennis’ iconic Centre Court.
The world No89 broke her much-fancied opponent three times, but was undone by her failure to hold her own serve.
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The draw is opening up for Barty with only three of the top ten seeds left in the tournament, with the likes of Naomi Osaka absent and Serena Williams forced out through injury.
But the Queenslander, who plays Czech ace Katerina Siniakova next, said: “Speculating now is a waste of time.
“It’s certainly not something that I’m going to do, to be looking at the draw. I never have, I never will.”
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