World No. 1 Ash Barty took less than an hour to send a message to her fellow competitors that she is ready for battle as she comfortably took apart Lucia Bronzetti 6-1, 6-1 on Wednesday.
Barty took the first set in 26 minutes, dominating play as she hit 11 winners and converting six of the seven points she took on at the net.
It was both cruel and awesome to watch, cruel for Bronzetti, who was out of her depth, but awesome to see Barty in such great form after months away from the court.
Bronzetti tried early in the second set to stay in touch but after she double faulted at 1-1, Barty took the break and moved up a gear.
Minutes later Barty went a double break up and quickly tied up the match.
“We are exactly where we are,” Barty said when asked about her preparation.
“I felt like we had a good preparation in Adelaide. We played well, played throughout tough matches. (Coach) Craig Tyzzer is the master. He’s good in the business and I’m spoilt to have him in my team.
“I’m grateful he has the tactical knowledge, communication and the way we talk to each other is incredible.”
The home favourite actually took just 52 minutes to beat the Italian qualifier. She will now face another Italian, Camila Giorgi, in the third round.
