'Absolute legends': Ash Barty photo sends tennis world into frenzy
Ash Barty has sent the tennis world into a frenzy with a photo of herself hanging out with Pat Rafter and Dylan Alcott.
After her shock loss in the Australian Open quarter-finals on Wednesday, the World No.1 is getting on with life and even enjoying a beer or two.
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Barty posted a photo on her social media channels on Thursday night alongside fellow Aussie tennis greats Rafter and Alcott.
"The best company," she captioned the photo.
Barty's happy snap was liked thousands of times on Twitter and Instagram, with fans flooding the comments.
"Three Aussie legends," one fan wrote.
Another added: "Three Aussies we can all be proud of. Champions."
While a third commented: "Oh my God love you!! You are all amazing."
What a trio of marvellous Australians!
— Dorothy Chambers (@dotchambers26) February 18, 2021
Three absolute legends of the game. Great photo.
— Owen Gardner (@owengardner555) February 18, 2021
That’s a brilliant photo. Made me smile ear to ear. Three champions - on an off the court. Just so AUSSIE !! 🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺
— Equal_Ibrium (@equal_ibrium) February 18, 2021
What a pic! Three Aussies you’d love to spend time with!
— Geoff Keogh (@keoghgeoff1) February 18, 2021
Three Aussie legends.
— Vicki Mainard 🇦🇺🕹🏀🐈 Scomo is my PM. (@vmainard) February 19, 2021
Between them the trio have 15 grand slam singles titles (Alcott with 12, Rafter two and Barty one.)
Alcott also has eight grand slam doubles titles, while Rafter has one of his own.
A wheelchair tennis champion, Alcott won his seventh Australian Open crown with victory in the quad singles final on Wednesday night.
Ash Barty accepts blame for shock defeat
On Wednesday Barty refused to blame her opponent's contentious mid-match medical time-out for her "heartbreaking" exit from the Australian Open.
The World No.1 capitulated from a set and a service break up in a shock 1-6 6-3 6-2 quarter-final loss to Czech Karolina Muchova.
Barty never recovered after losing nine out of 11 games after the 27th-ranked Muchova took a tactical time-out while trailing the top seed 6-1 2-1 on Rod Laver Laver Arena.
Muchova later admitted she wasn't injured.
"I was a bit lost on the court and my head was spinning so I took a break and it helped me," she said.
"I started feeling a bit lost by the end of the first set. Ash started very good. She played like no mistakes. It was very tough."
A gracious Barty declined to discredit the Czech, taking full ownership for her deflating defeat.
"It's within the rules. She's within her rights to take that time," Barty said.
"If she wasn't within the rules, the physios and the doctors would have said so.
"That's the laws of our game, that we have those medical time-outs for cases that are needed. Obviously she needed that today."
with AAP
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