She has been likened in talent and craft to Martina Hingis and on Friday night Australian teenage prodigy Ashleigh Barty has the chance to join the Swiss great in the grand slam record books.
Barty, who on Thursday became the youngest Australian Fed Cup pick since Jelena Dokic 15 years ago, will team with Casey Dellacqua against Italian top seeds Roberta Vinci and Sara Errani in the Australian Open women’s doubles final.
If Barty wins, she will become the first 16-year-old grand slam champion since Hingis reigned in the singles at 1997 US Open.
Only then 15-year-olds Hingis (1996 Wimbledon 1996 and 1997 Australian Open doubles) and Mirjana Lucic (1998 Australian Open doubles) have won a grand slam doubles title at a younger age.
“Already this week for me has been such an achievement,” said Barty, the 2011 Wimbledon junior champion.
“To be in the final with Casey has been unbelievable. It’s already been an amazing week. If we can go one step further, it would be incredible.”
New Fed Cup captain Alicia Molik, who is pinning her faith in the youngster for next month’s World Group quarter-final with defending champions the Czech Republic and the last Australian to land a Melbourne Park doubles major, has no doubts Barty and Dellacqua can deliver.
“Watching Casey and Ash reminds me of when Svetlana (Kuznetsova) and I won the doubles title here (in 2005),” Molik said.
“(It) just jigs my memory back to taking match by match winning the French Open as well with Mara Santangelo (in 2007) – you belive you can win every match.
“There are so many other better teams than you, but you just build on your confidence.
“We played a better team than us in the French Open final and we beat them.
“Svetlana and I here in Melbourne, we played a better team than us as well: Lindsay Davenport and Corina Morariu at the time they were at the top of their games.
“That’s the beauty of finals. Some teams find their best tennis. So many don’t cope with nerves.
“Some get caught up in the moment and don’t know how to deal with certain situations on the court.
“It brings out in the best in people, the worst in people. I was fortunate that both partners I won grand slams with were incredibly supportive.
“I think that’s what Ash and Casey give to each other.”
Barty and Dellacqua, 27, are the first all-Australian pairing to reach the final since Evonne Goolagong and Helen Gourlay in December 1977 when that final was washed out and the trophy was shared.
The last all-Australian pairing to win the title outright was Dianne Balestrat and Gourlay in January of 1977.
