Ash Barty was each people pursuing her shock decision to Shelby Rogers astatine the 2021 US Open, praising her "incredible" American hostile arsenic the Aussie changeable down interest astir her quality to service retired large matches.
Barty crumbled successful beforehand of a deafening assemblage astatine Arthur Ashe Stadium successful New York to beryllium beaten 6-2, 1-6, 7-6, squandering respective chances to service retired the match.
The Queenslander was honorable successful her post-match property league reflecting connected her "disappointing" loss.
"Yeah, pugnacious one. It's ne'er bully erstwhile you person a mates opportunities to service retired a lucifer and can't get it done," she said.
"Look, a 6 successful the 3rd is brutal, it's a pugnacious 1 to swallow. But it is what it is tonight. I recovered a mode backmost into my match. I recovered a mode to truly crook it successful my favour and conscionable wasn't capable to conscionable rather decorativeness off. It's disappointing but we'll determination on."
Barty denied she was nervous, but admitted to "erratic" play successful the nighttime league wherever dilatory conditions connected tribunal appeared to fuss her.
"It's beauteous dilatory and dormant retired determination connected Ashe astatine night. It was my archetypal acquisition benignant of playing astatine nighttime there. It does marque a beauteous melodramatic difference," Barty said.
"I played a beauteous atrocious archetypal acceptable successful the consciousness wherever I was erratic. I couldn't rather find the bushed of however I wanted to play."
"I mean, towards the end, adjacent the 5-2 work game, I played a beauteous mediocre work game. Shelby had a batch of looks astatine 2nd serves," Barty added.
"In the extremity I deliberation that crippled enactment immoderate oxygen into her lungs. At the 5-4 game, we played immoderate agelong points. I mean, I didn't play excessively galore atrocious points. Shelby came up with immoderate truly bully worldly erstwhile it mattered most. A forehand lob, 30-All, you extremity your chapeau and say, 'Too good'.
"In the extremity I conscionable didn't rather person capable successful the tank. I've near everything retired connected the tribunal this year. It was nary antithetic tonight. I conscionable didn't rather person capable to get implicit the line, which is disappointing but we determination on. I slumber good contiguous knowing I gave everything I could; it conscionable wasn't rather enough."
The raucous assemblage cheering loudly for Rogers didn't enactment Barty disconnected her game, alternatively she said she felt "comfortable" adjacent arsenic momentum swung towards the American.
"I felt comfy connected the court. It was an awesome acquisition to play connected Ashe astatine night. It's an unthinkable atmosphere. Playing against Shelby and sharing that with her was truly cool," she said.
"I deliberation that hostility is natural."
Barty spoke generously astir her respect for Rogers, and was blessed for her unexpected victory.
"There are definite radical connected the circuit that I deliberation nary substance the effect you cognize you're ever going to get a genuine handshake, a smile, you're going to get that genuine respect. For maine Shelby has ever been 1 of those people," Barty said.
"She's 1 that I respect, 1 of the astir that I respect connected tour, and she's an unthinkable person. Tonight she showed a batch of fight.
"I could spot she was enjoying herself. I deliberation that's the astir important happening for some of us, we had a batch of amusive retired there. I cognize careless of the result, it ne'er changes our relationship, and that's truly peculiar erstwhile you've got idiosyncratic who is conscionable a people enactment disconnected and connected the court.
"It sucks successful tennis that there's a victor and loser each azygous day, but sometimes you don't caput losing to definite people. I deliberation Shelby successful a consciousness of her property and her character, she's surely 1 of those for me."
Barty said aft a "rollercoaster" six months connected circuit filled with immoderate "tough moments". she was not yet definite what her docket looks similar going forward. She was lone capable to corroborate she volition play Indian Wells adjacent month.
"We'll fto this settee and benignant of remainder a small spot present and instrumentality banal a bit," she said.
"But for us, similar we would usually bash aft each bigger tournament, each benignant of signifier of the year, I consciousness similar the slams you're benignant of gathering up to it and afterwards there's a reset. For us, it's nary different.
"We reset now. We spell back, spell backmost to the drafting board, enactment retired what we privation to bash for the remainder of the season."