At Wimbledon, Ashleigh Barty won the Women’s Singles Cup: NPR

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Australian Ashleigh Barty stands with the winner’s trophy on Saturday after winning the Wimbledon women’s singles final against Czech Karolina Pliskova. Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP Hide Caption

Switch caption Kirsty Wigglesworth / AP

Australian Ashleigh Barty stands with the winner’s trophy on Saturday after winning the Wimbledon women’s singles final against Czech Karolina Pliskova.

Kirsty Wigglesworth/AFP

Barty’s party has begun.

No. 1 seed Ashleigh Barty beat Karolina Pliskova in three sets on Saturday, becoming the first Australian woman to win Wimbledon since 1980. Her victory came 50 years after Barty’s star, Australian Yvonne Golagong Cowley, won her first Wimbledon title.

“It took me so long to express the fact that I wanted to dare to dream,” the 25-year-old said of her Wimbledon hopes. “Being able to fulfill my dream now, with everyone here, has made it even better than I could have ever imagined.

“I didn’t sleep much last night,” Barty told All England Club after the match. “I was thinking about everything that was going on. But I think when I was going to this court, I kind of felt at home.”

As the finals approached, Barty was the favorite to win – and the opening minutes of the match were making Barty’s tournament look inevitable. At just 11 minutes, she was already 4-0 ahead of 29-year-old Pliskova, who was struggling to show the ingenuity that led her to the finals.

Although Pliskova managed to win three matches in the first set, Barty looked ready to sprint towards a quick victory. But in the second set, Pliskova – the former world number one – found a foothold. The 6’1 Czech’s massive serve, missed at the start, began to emerge. Pliskova won a tiebreak to take the second set 7-6.

The next group will determine whether Barty can bring the Women’s Cup to Australia for the first time since Gulagong Kawley. Barty said she was telling herself, “Keep on fighting.” “I was so proud of myself that I was able to reset myself and continue to do so.”

Barty won the third set 6-3.

“I hope I can be proud of Yvonne,” Barty told the crowd, who responded with a standing ovation.

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