Top seed and world number one Ashleigh Barty of Australian will face American Danielle Collins in the Final of the 2022 Australian Open. The match is scheduled to be played on Saturday January 29th, 2022 at approximately 8:30am EST.
Can Ashleigh Barty claim her first Grand Slam title on home soil here at the Australian Open? Or will Danielle Collins play spoiler and cause the major upset? One thing that is for sure is that we are in store for some very exciting tennis. Will it be the two time Grand Slam winner Barty? Or Collins claiming her first?
Ashleigh Barty is the current world number one and is the top seed here at her home slam the Australian Open. The Aussie fan favorite has arguably been the best and most consistent player on the WTA Tour over the past few years, and is having the tournament of her life here in Melbourne, reaching the Final without dropping a set. In fact, she has largely been untested, and is the clear favorite to win here over Danielle Collins. Barty cruised past the red-hot Madison Keys in the Semis in dominant fashion, and with her unique game, blazing form and the crowd support behind her, it seems like only a miracle can stop her here.
Danielle Collins is seeded 27th here at the Australian Open, and will break into the top 10 of the WTA rankings after her stunning run to the Final here. She is no stranger to success in Australia, having reached her previous best result at the Australian Open 2019 when she made the Semis. She has been impressive in Melbourne so far, most notably crushing the 7th seed and big favorite Iga Swiatek in the Semi-Finals to set up this mouth-watering clash with Ashleigh Barty. Collins has beaten Barty before, and if her power game is clicking she is sure to cause the top seed many issues.
This will be a battle, and despite what the rankings suggest it really can go either way. Ashleigh Barty is hard to go against, with her steady approach and vast major experience, but Collins is playing freely, and has proven that she is capable of upsetting her Aussie opponent as she has in the past. I expect a very tough match, possibly going to three sets, but I do think that the crowd support will give Barty the edge, and she should win here in two very close sets, with Collins possibly stretching it to the distance. Barty is calmer under pressure, and that will matter a lot in a Grand Slam Final.