Recharged Barty ready to make up for lost time

“I’ve enjoyed my time at home, and I’ve been extremely lucky to have my friends and family around me, and use that as a recharging station essentially.”

But the fiercely competitive streak is only just below the surface. Choosing to stay home meant defending her Paris title and playing the US Open in New York, as well as myriad other events, were all off the table.

“Probably the last three or four weeks, I’ve begun to get a little impatient. I just want to start. I just want to play. I just want to get out there and compete,” she said.

“Because we’ve done the work and now it’s about going out there and having some fun.”

This time last year Barty was in the early stages of an Australian Open campaign where the scrutiny was intense. It was a long time since Australia had had a women’s player anywhere near the world’s top ranking and the drought of producing a home-grown winner of the Australian Open women’s title dated back 42 years – to Chris O’Neill in 1978.

Now the attention and anticipation is much more about the shape of Barty’s game, not whether she’s simply the player to beat at Melbourne Park next month.

Any mention about outside pressure – perceived or otherwise – and the answer is decisive. In her eyes, this year’s circumstances may be unique but she’ll continue to focus on processes.

“It’s no different,” Barty said. “For me, I feel like, if anything, every time I walk on the court there’s less pressure.

“Every time I walk out there it’s an opportunity for me to try my best. A massive part of our team is everyone playing their role.

“Regardless of whether you win or lose I sleep a lot easier at night knowing that I’ve done the right thing.

“If we make the right decisions for the right reasons, then good things will come of it. Good things don’t come every single day from a results point of view but certainly with that perceived pressure from the outside, it’s all but non-existent.

“I’m just there trying to do the best I can every day, and that’s all I can ask of myself.”

What hasn’t changed with Barty from the last time you saw her on your tennis TV screens is her genuine humility.

This week coincides with the end of her Young Australian of the Year status, an accolade that arrived during her well-watched charge to the Australian Open semi-finals.

“I think it’s just a really special accolade that I feel I didn’t deserve,” Barty said. “I think there are a lot of Aussies around the country, particularly young Australians, that have done far greater things and far more impactful things than I’ve done.

“But it was obviously extremely special, for my family as well.”

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In choosing against travel after the pandemic struck, Barty leaned on a safety-first approach when making tough decisions. So only a few days ago, in an uncharacteristic slip-up when Barty was spotted in a Melbourne supermarket without a face-mask, her regret and apology was immediate.

She’s acutely conscious of what Victorians have gone through, with double lockdowns last year and, with an Australian Open around the corner that’s being met with suspicion for the inherent risk due to the more than 1200 international arrivals in the tennis “bubble”, Barty’s mistake wasn’t the best look.

“Once I got back in the car and realised that I’d forgotten my mask we apologised straight away,” Barty said.

“I know how tricky it’s been for Melburnians down here over the last six or seven months in particular. I have to be better.”