Barty tames the Melbourne wind to reach third round

Australia’s Ashleigh Barty celebrates winning the match against Slovenia’s Polona Hercog. Reuters

MELBOURNE (Reuters): World number one Ash Barty overcame high winds and a potentially tricky opponent to ease into the third round of the Australian Open with a 6-1 6-4 victory over Polona Hercog on Wednesday.

After choking smoke from recent bushfires and torrential rains, players at Melbourne Park on Wednesday had to contend with swirling winds.

Nothing the Australian weather could throw at her was about to put Barty off her stride, however, as she continued her quest to become the first home-grown champion at the Australian Open since Chris O’Neil at Kooyong in 1978.

The French Open champion had given her compatriots a scare by losing her first set of the tournament on Monday but there was no repeat on day three of the championships as Barty raced through.

The world number one next faces 29th seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, who was the other WTA title winner along with Barty in the final week of warm-ups for Melbourne Park when she won in Hobart.