Barty charges into Open second round

Anna Harrington | January 17, 2022

World No.1 Ash Barty has made an early Australian Open statement, coolly thrashing Lesia Tsurenko 6-0 6-1 to cruise into the second round.

In a ruthless performance on Rod Laver Arena, a steely-eyed Barty raced through the straight-sets victory in just 54 minutes to continue her perfect start to the year.

The superstar Australian will play Lucia Bronzetti on Wednesday after the Italian qualifier beat Russia’s Varvara Gracheva 3-6 6-2 6-3.