World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty defeats Karolina Pliskova for first Wimbledon title

© Clive Brunskill, Getty Images Ashleigh Barty of Australia plays a forehand during her Ladies’ Singles Final match against Karolina Pliskova of The Czech Republic on Day Twelve of The Championships – Wimbledon 2021 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 10, 2021.

After a COVID-19-induced hiatus last  year, Wimbledon has a women’s champion. World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty won the title, beating Karolina Pliskova 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-3 on Saturday.

This is the Australian’s first Wimbledon title, having won the 2019 French Open. She was the first Australian woman to reach a Wimbledon final since Evonne Goolagong Cawley in 1980.

Barty controlled the match until the second set where Pliskova broke the tie running down a Barty shot that flicked the net lobbed in the air and was subsequently smashed back to the court. 

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Then, in the final set, Barty hit her seventh ace of the match, for championship point, Pliskova netted it over and it was over.

Barty’s win pushed her advantage over Pliskova in their head-to-heads to 6-2. Pliskova, the tournament’s No. 8 seed, has never won a major title. 

Follow Christian Ortega on Twitter @unofficialchris.

Contributing: Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty defeats Karolina Pliskova for first Wimbledon title