Tennis: Barty sees Roland Garros defence as a 'fresh start'

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As Ashleigh Barty prepares for the start of Roland Garros on May 24, she insisted Monday that she does not regard herself as the defending champion.

The Australian won her only major singles title in Paris in 2019. The tournament was cancelled last year because of the Covid-19 pandemic."It's a long time since I've played at the French Open," she said in a teleconference from Stuttgart on Monday ahead of her first match on European clay in almost two years.She made clear that her approach was also practical.

"If you go into a tournament thinking you're defending your title, it's the wrong way to approach it," she said."It's a fresh tournament, and it's a new opportunity."The 24-year-old Barty and American Jennifer Brady crushed American pair Kaitlyn Christian and Sabrina Santamaria 6-3, 6-1 in the Stuttgart doubles round of 16 on Monday.

Barty received a bye to the singles second round, where she will face one of two Germans, either Laura Siegemund or Mona Barthel.She opened her clay-court season by reaching the quarterfinals in Charleston, South Carolina, at the start of the month.Even though she skipped much of last season, she is ranked No. 1 in the world and won the hard-court Miami Open which preceded Charleston, but she was cagey about her form.

"Part and parcel of travelling is being comfortable away from home or as comfortable as you can be," she said. "Obviously I'm a homebody. I love being at home with my family," she said, adding that she tries to speak to them as much as possible."I love what I do. I'm extremely grateful for the opportunity to do what I love in the current situation in the world."

 

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