MATCH POINTS
No.1 seed Ashleigh Barty will compete in her 13th career final, and third in a row at home in the second week of the season. Previously, Barty fell 6-4, 6-4 in the 2018 Sydney final to Angelique Kerber and 1-6, 7-5, 7-6(3) one year later to Petra Kvitova; today, she is gunning for her first trophy on Australian soil. Overall, the World No.1 has a 7-5 record in title matches.
The unseeded Dayana Yastremska will play her fourth career final, and first at Premier level. The 19-year-old Ukrainian is unbeaten in WTA finals so far, winning her last two - over Ajla Tomljanovic in Hua Hin last February and over Caroline Garcia in Strasbourg last May - in third-set tiebreaks. At ITF level, Yastremska went 3-3 in finals, with her last loss in a title match coming at the 2018 Ilkley ITF W100 event to Tereza Smitkova 7-6(2), 3-6, 7-6(4).
In their only previous meeting, Barty defeated Yastremska 6-4, 6-1 in the second round of Miami last year, en route to the first Premier title of her career.
Yastremska is bidding for the second Top 10 win of her career, and first over a reigning World No.1, having previously defeated World No.2 Karolina Pliskova 6-1, 6-4 in Wuhan last year.
Barty's semifinal win has guaranteed that the 23-year-old will retain the World No.1 ranking through (and after) the Australian Open. Yastremska is certain to hit a new career high ranking next week, and a title would mean that she will break the Top 20 for the first time.
ORDER OF PLAY
CENTRE COURT (after 1 ATP match, not before 4.30pm)
[1] Ashleigh BARTY (AUS) vs Dayana YASTREMSKA (UKR)
