This is Ashleigh Barty’s second title of 2021; she also won the Yarra Valley Classic in February. But perhaps more importantly, Barty has proven to her detractors that she is a worthy candidate for the World No. 1 ranking.
The Australian echoed that sentiment herself during her press conference after the final. Barty claimed she has nothing to prove to anyone, and that the work she and her team have been doing speaks for itself.
The 24-year-old also pointed out that even though she didn’t play any tournament since the resumption of the tour last year, that also meant she couldn’t add any ranking points to her tally.
Ashleigh Barty could have lost the No. 1 ranking this week, if a few scenarios had played out.
Had Naomi Osaka clinched the title, Barty would have been required to necessarily make the final to safeguard her top spot. However, Osaka’s quarterfinal defeat to Maria Sakkari ensured that Barty kept her No. 1 ranking merely by making the semis.
With her 2021 Miami Open triumph, Ashleigh Barty has now won the tournament twice in a row. She had also won the previous edition of the event, back in 2019 (the tournament was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic).
In doing so, the Australian has joined a select group of legendary players to have won back-to-back titles in Miami - Steffi Graf, Monica Seles, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, Venus Williams and Serena Williams.
On being informed of that fact, Ashleigh Barty asserted she hasn’t done enough to be categorized along with those great players. She did, however, acknowledge that it was a ‘privilege’ to be mentioned in the same breath as them.
Never the way you want to finish a match: Ashleigh Barty
Ashleigh Barty expressed sympathy for Bianca Andreescu, who hurt herself early in the second set of the final. Andreescu ultimately had to concede the match through retirement, and in her presser Barty acknowledged how unfortunate the Canadian has been with injuries lately.
Ashleigh Barty went on to commend Bianca Andreescu for her fighting spirit, and sounded confident that the two of them would play many more matches in the future.
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