Birmingham: Ashleigh Barty defeated Julia Goerges 6-3, 7-5 to win the Birmingham Classic title on Sunday, a victory that ensures the Australian will be No 1 in the rankings on Monday.
The 23-year-old Barty, who lost the final to Petra Kvitova in 2017, did not drop a set all week at the grass-court tournament, and she fought back from being 4-5 down in the second set to beat the German in 1 hour, 28 minutes.
Roger Federer, meanwhile, will head to Wimbledon in high spirits after waltzing past Belgium’s David Goffin in straight sets to win a record-extending 10th title at the ATP event in Halle. Federer, 37, beat Goffin 7-6 (7/2), 6-1 to secure his 102nd career singles title and remain unbeaten on grass so far this season.
“It’s unbelievable. I never thought when I first played here that I would win 10 titles,” said Federer.
“I’ve never won a tournament 10 times before, so I will remember forever that I did so here in Halle.”
Goerges fought back tears as she congratulated her friend Barty on taking top spot in the rankings ahead of Wimbledon, which starts July 1.
French Open champion Barty, currently ranked No 2, will take over from Naomi Osaka, who lost 6-2, 6-3 loss to Yulia Putintseva in the second round on Thursday. Barty is only the second Australian woman to hold the top spot after Evonne Goolagong Cawley in 1976.
