Ash Barty and Chris O’Neil, the last Aussie woman to win the Australian Open singles final, have one thing in common – a reluctance to linger in the spotlight. In almost every way their experiences are worlds apart.
When O’Neil won that title in 1978, beating American Betsy Nagelson in straight sets, she pocketed $35,000.
If Barty can continue her stunning form on Saturday night against Danielle Collins she’s will win $2.875 million – a nice little top up to her $21.6m career earnings.
That considerable nest egg has allowed Barty to do as she pleases off the court and while Max Markson said she was Australia’s most marketable athlete this week, marketing herself seems low on the agenda.
Barty is the world No.1, while O’Neil, now 65 and living in Port Macquarie, peaked at No.80. She worked as a parcel courier for to pay for her first trip to Wimbledon in 1974.
(Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
After her career is over Barty will be able to kick back wherever she wants. She could probably afford to buy her own private island for the purpose. It is hard to imagine her heading into commentary or the public arena.
When O’Neil finished playing competitively, she went back to work, coaching with her brothers in Newcastle and then in Sydney, and taking a part time gig pulling schooners at Port Macquarie’s Westport Bowlo.
Chris O’Neil (Photo by Getty Images).
O’Neil has never liked to trade on her Australian Open win – but The Age reported on Friday that he had been convinced to attend Saturday’s final on Rod Laver Arena.
“I’ve sort of enjoyed being a good trivia question,” O’Neil told The Age.
She said she hoped Barty can take the final step to succeed her.
“I just think Ash Barty is fantastic. I think she’s a great human being, fantastic tennis player … if I’m going to give it away to anyone, certainly I’m happy that it’s Ash.”
The 1978 final was on New Year’s Eve – the men’s a few days later – and the event was held on the grass courts of Kooyong.
“Everything’s different,” O’Neil told The Age. “Technique’s different, racquet technology, the court surface, the game styles, how players use support teams now, money – it just goes on and on.”
There were 32 women in the singles draw instead of the present day 128 and many of the leading players, including superstars Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova, chose to stay home rather than making the trip.
“The field, I’m the first one to say that the field was not strong,” O’Neil acknowledged. “But then again, you can only beat the field.
“It was probably the best and the worst thing that happened to me in terms of career. It was a one-off.”
O’Neil told The Age she no longer plays.
“I’ve had two hip replacements and a knee replacement,” she said. “Running’s not big on the agenda. I do a little coaching as a hobby, but that’s really all it is now.”
O’Neil is back in the news again two years after she was quoted as Barty reached the semis, only to be denied a place in the final.
“I think Ash embodies all the qualities of a truly great champion,” she said then.
“There’s so many things I admire about her.
“Her humility, her desire to be the best person she can be, her raw talent, her determination, her all round game, her composure under pressure, her ability to think and play her way out of trouble, her down to earth nature and sense of humour … she has it all.”
The attention, and expectation, on Barty is so much different to the almost anonymous tournament put together by O’Neil. Crowds, coverage and intensity is all on another level.
(Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)
If anyone has an understanding of what Barty is going through in front of her home fans, it’s Mary Piece, the French tennis great who famously, joyously, broke her country’s own notorious Roland Garros women’s title drought in 2000 after years of dealing with similarly intense pressure and expectation.
Trying to become the first woman to win the Australian Open in 44 years is both a blessing and burden for Barty, Pierce suspects.
“The whole country celebrates when you win and they all mourn when you lose,” Pierce told AAP from Florida.
“It’s very stressful because you want to win your home slam.
“There’s only four countries that have them so it’s very special if you are from one of those countries and you are able to play in that level.
“So it’s a blessing and it’s amazing because there’s no greater experience as an athlete when you’re competing out there on centre court at a grand slam in your own country.
“It’s the best feeling ever.”
But the tension can be unbearable at times.
“For me personally, playing Roland Garros I always felt so much pressure, so much stress,” Pierce said.
“Like the whole world was on my shoulders, the whole country.
“The country loves tennis, like Australia. France is totally sports-mad, like Australia. They have amazing sports fans; they love their sports, love their athletes.
“So there’s a lot of pressure. You want to do well and you want to win and there’s a lot more attention with the media.
“There’s a lot more eyes on you and it’s demanding, so it was really hard to manage that.
“You feel so much expectation and you feel like whole country’s riding on what you’re doing.
“So that’s tough, but it seems that Ash so far is handling it really well.”
Winning Roland Garros was a beautiful moment in Pierce’s life and the Frenchwoman dearly hopes Barty nails her home slam too.
“She’d be on top of the world. It’s the greatest feeling,” Pierce said.
“That moment, championship point for her and she wins it, I mean, the crowd will go crazy, her family and friends will go crazy.
“That’s the ultimate in your career that you can accomplish, I think.
“I really hope she does it. She can do it.”
(With AAP)
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