Ashleigh Barty beats Karolina Pliskova to win first Wimbledon title

Ashleigh Barty defeated Karolina Pliskova to clinch the 2021 Wimbledon women’s final on Saturday.

She claimed her second Grand Slam title in three sets of 6-3, 6-7, 6-3.

The world number one had never gone past the fourth round at the All England Club before now.

To secure the first set, Barty increased the volume on her forehand – hitting the ball beautifully – and then played a patient point at 40-0 up.

A double fault from Barty saw Pliskova take the second set for the final to head into a third set decider.

Barty became the first No. 1 seed to win the Wimbledon title since Serena Williams achieved the feat in 2016.

The Queenslander becomes the third Australian player to win the Venus Rosewater Dish after Evonne Goolagong, her mentor, first won it 50 years ago.

Margaret Court was the first Australian to win the Wimbledon title.

Barty has now recorded a 5-3 victory over Pliskova in their eight encounters so far.

Both players first met in 2012, where a 16-year-old Barty beat her 20-year-old opponent.

Barty is the fourth former junior Wimbledon champion to win the main title, after Ann Jones, Martina Hingis and Amelie Mauresmo.

She will remain ranked no.1 in the world when new ranking is released on Monday.