No.1 Australia's Ashleigh Barty into first Wimbledon final as she beats 2018 winner Angelique Kerber
Wimbledon, Jul 8: It might have been difficult for Ash Barty to imagine that a trip to her first Wimbledon final was just around the corner when she stopped playing at last month's French Open because of an injured hip.
Or even when she was two points from being pushed to a third set by Angelique Kerber in their semifinal at the All England Club.
Barty does not let obstacles trouble her for too long. She figures out a way. That's why she's ranked No. 1 and now stands one win from a second Grand Slam title after beating 2018 champion Kerber 6-3, 7-6 (3) on Thursday.
"I've had ups and downs and everything in between and I wouldn't change one day or one moment or one, kind of, road that we've taken in my path and my journey," said Barty, who was the 2011 junior champion at the All England Club and stepped away from tennis for almost two years starting in 2014 because of burnout.
"It's been unique. It's been incredible. It's been tough. There have been so many things that led to this point," she told the Centre Court spectators. "Being able to play on the final Saturday here at Wimbledon is going to be just the best experience ever."
Barty is the first woman from Australia to reach the title match at the grass-court major since Evonne Goolagong in 1980.
The opponent Saturday will be No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka or No. 8 Karolina Pliskova. They met in the second semifinal.
The 25-year-old Barty won the 2019 French Open for her first Grand Slam title.
On Thursday, she faced a big test in the second set, which Kerber was two points from owning when Barty served at deuce while trailing 5-2. The full-capacity crowd was backing the comeback effort for the 33-year-old German, too, with shouts of "Come on, Angie!" and "Go on, Kerber!"
But Barty steeled herself to hold there, then broke to get within 5-4 with a cross-court forehand passing winner.
That was part of a 38-16 advantage in total winners for Barty, responsible more than anything else for her triumph. And this was remarkable: She compiled that many point-ending shots while making only 16 unforced errors.
"This is close to as good a tennis match as I'll ever play," Barty said. "Angie definitely brought the best out of me today."
It was a rather entertaining and, from point to point, rather even contest, two talented baseliners willing to try a volley, drop shot or lob when required. They were each other's equal for long exchanges in all, 22 points lasted at least nine strokes, with Kerber winning a dozen.
Their approaches are different, though. Kerber is a left-hander who hits flat groundstrokes and is just fine with handling foes' low shots, often dropping a knee onto the turf to get leverage.
Barty is a righty who relies on heavy topspin for a forehand packed with power, and her slice backhand can produce tricky bounces on the grass.
She ended up with an 8-0 edge in aces and 18-9 in forehand winners.
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Austrian police detain suspect in case of rat poison found in baby food jars on supermarket shelves
Vienna (AP): Police in eastern Austria say a 39-year-old suspect has been arrested after rat poison turned up in some HiPP baby food jars on supermarket shelves in central Europe.
HiPP, which recalled some of its baby food jars in Austria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic after the case came to light last month, said in a statement Saturday it was “greatly relieved” by the arrest, and would provide further updates as verified details come in.
The Burgenland State Criminal Police Office, under the direction of prosecutors, said a probe was launched after poison turned up in a baby food jar purchased at a supermarket in the city of Eisenstadt on April 18.
It said the suspect was being questioned, and that no further details would be immediately provided. The Burgenland public prosecutor's office has announced an investigation into suspected “intentional endangerment of the public.”
The Austrian Press Agency reported that an expert report on the toxicity of the poison was pending. A total of five tampered baby food jars were seized before they could be consumed, APA reported.
Authorities said previously they believe the tampering occurred in 190-gram (6.7-ounce) jars of baby food made with carrots and potatoes for 5-month-olds that were sold from SPAR supermarkets in Austria.
HiPP responded by recalling all of its baby food jars sold at SPAR supermarkets — which include SPAR, EUROSPAR, INTERSPAR and Maximarkt stores — in Austria as a precaution. Vendors in Slovakia and the Czech Republic also removed all of the brand's baby jars from sale.
The company said the recall was not due to any product or quality defect on its part, and said the jars left its facility in “perfect condition.”
Police said a customer at the time of the discovery had reported that a jar appeared to have been tampered with, but no one had consumed the baby food.
