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Australian great Evonne Goolagong said Ash Barty’s victory at Wimbledon on Saturday made her more emotional than her own triumph on the pitch 50 years ago.
Barty has been a woman on assignment this year at the All England Club and emulated trailblazer Goolagong, with whom she shares native Australian heritage, defeating Karolina Pliskova 6-3 6-7 (4) 6-3 in a nervous final on Center Search.
“I had never really watched myself play in years until I showed kids in our national indigenous camp a movie of me playing. It was more emotional for me to watch Ash,” he said. Goolagong said in a video posted by Tennis Australia on Sunday.
“Everyone reacts differently when they first win Wimbledon. It only hit me later, because you go numb. You’re in shock, just like Ash at the end.
“We were so excited. Now I see the other side of that… my family, how they were when they watched me win. They were jumping, crying, screaming… exactly what we were doing.”
Dressed in a scalloped-edged outfit in the style of Goolagong’s 1970s kit, Barty said after her victory that she hoped she had made her idol proud.
“She certainly did. She made me proud from the first time I saw her,” Goolagong said.
“She must have been around 13 and playing at the Australian Open. [My husband] Roger and I looked around a bit and we saw a whole point where she had all the skills.
“She did the slice, the volley, the smash, everything… and we both looked at each other and said ‘she’s got it, she’s going to be our next champion.’ Look at her now … I remember not watching tennis before Roger Federer’s arrival, because he had all the skills … just magical. came Ash … she never looked back. “
Goolagong said it was “incredible” that Barty won his first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros in 2019, the location of his first major tournament in 1971.
“One of the last messages I sent to Ash was ‘dreams come true and it will come true for you.’ I felt so confident,” Goolagong said.
“I’m so proud of Ash and the way she’s behaving. Not just on the pitch but also off the pitch. She’s a great Australian, everyone loves her,” said Goolagong.
“Ash to me is like a little sister and part of my family and we treat each other that way … it’s magical when you make her dream come true … I’m sure it’s magical for her . “
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