Player DNA: Barty working harder than ever

It’s day seven of Australian Open 2019 and the spotlight falls on one established greats of the game taking on a player determined to join the elite.

Former world No.1 Maria Sharapova and Aussie hopeful Ash Barty meet in the day session on Rod Laver Arena, with both players having looked in great form through the first three rounds.

So how are the pair shaping up as they head into round four? Game Insight Group in partnership with Infosys have run the numbers from their opening three matches.

Barty v Sharapova

Points of Interest

• To the surprise of some, Barty’s first serve has been bigger than Sharapova’s in AO 2019.
• That said, Sharapova has been steadily building her serve speed. Against Wozniacki, her first and second serve speeds were up 7kmh and 10kmh respectively.
• Sharapova holds the edge in forehand speed (+5kmh) and will look to use it as much as possible (60% of the time in the event so far vs 51% for Barty)
• The five-time Grand Slam winner will try to dominate court position in point play (she’s played 50cm closer to the baseline than Barty so far). Interestingly, Barty’s rally impact position has shifted deeper in the court with each round (80cm, 110cm and 130cm in rounds 1, 2 and 3). She won’t want to give up more ground against the Russian.
• Barty’s physicality has reached new heights in AO 2019 (see below). She will have the legs to go the distance.

Barty is winning more points when pushed physically than she has in previous AOs. In points where she performs at least one sprint, her win rate has increased year-on-year:

• Rounds 1-3 AO2017: 43%
• Rounds 1-3 AO2018: 51%
• Rounds 1-3 AO2019: 59%

AO 2019:

• Barty has been the hardest worker out of the eight women left in her half of the draw with an average Work Rate of 4.9 KJ / shot.