'We were both crying': Ash Barty's golden admission in stirring salute to 'exceptional' Dylan Alcott
Ash Barty was due to hit the court for her semi-final Australian Open clash in only an hour's time, but the top seed had tears welling in her eyes as Dylan Alcott punched out gold.
After conquering American Madison Keys to advance to an Australian Open final for the first time, Barty revealed in her on-court interview that she had watched Alcott's final match as a professional quad wheelchair player.
The 15-time singles grand slam champion suffered an unexpected defeat as he graced the court a final time, losing in straight sets to Dutchman Sam Schroder, but so classy is the man that a speech teeming with inspiration was certain to follow.
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Ash Barty has revealed she had tears in her eyes only an hour before her semi-final Australian Open match, as Dylan Alcott delivered an inspirational address at Rod Laver Arena. AP
Barty was among the millions captivated by the address as Alcott declared himself "the luckiest guy in the world" and paid tribute to those in the Rod Laver Arena crowd with a disability.
When US tennis icon Jim Courier asked Barty about the thriving health of Australian tennis during the Queenslander's on-court interview, she had phenomenal words for "the forefront of that".
"He has inspired the nation, he has inspired the whole globe," Barty said of Alcott.
"We were watching his match today and I was with my physio about an hour before coming out and when he was saying his ... speech we were both crying. And I was thinking, 'I need to get out here and get ready and get my game on'. But I just wanted to watch Dylan.
"For him to share that moment with so many people here (was so special)."
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Barty's praise for Alcott was not done.
"You look around and the way that he and the Australian Open have worked together to open up the opportunities for more disabled people all around the world to play tennis and to have a go is just exceptional," Barty said.
"I couldn't be more proud of him."
