Ash Barty ends the drought, Naomi Osaka returns and more big moments from the 2022 Australian Open

Ashleigh Barty was 11 or 12 the first time she attended a final at the Australian Open. As a young player there as part of a training camp, she was amazed by how professional it was and how all of the players were so focused.

Being there sparked something in her.

“Being able to get a taste of that kind of lit the flame,” Barty said earlier this week. “You wonder what you can achieve. You wonder what you can do.”

On Saturday, more than a decade after her first experience at Rod Laver Arena, Barty left herself, and all those watching, little to wonder about as she defeated Danielle Collins, 6-3, 7-6 (2), in the Australian Open final to become the first Australian player, of either gender, to win the singles title in 44 years. As an adoring and vocal crowd looked on, Barty made history.

The pressure had gotten to other top Australian players before, even those who had won majors elsewhere. The weight of the expectations was simply too much to endure. Barty had struggled with pressure early in her career, even taking a break from playing as a heralded teenager for a year and a half, and later, as the No. 1 player in the world during the previous two Australian Open tournaments, where she simply hadn’t played her best tennis. Her face was everywhere, and she dominated the local headlines, but she lost in the semifinals in 2020 and the quarterfinals in 2021.

But this time was different. The hype was still there, but now Barty welcomed it.

“[I] absolutely embrace [the attention],” Barty said Thursday. “You have to. It’s fun. It’s brilliant to be playing in the business end of your home Slam. I’m not gonna lie about that. It’s amazing…

“I go out there and embrace it, smile, try and do the best that I can and whatever happens, happens.”

That change in mindset seemed to make all the difference.

Barty, 25, steamrolled through her competition throughout the fortnight, never dropping a set. With each victory, the collective hope grew bigger. Chris O’Neil, the last Aussie…