World number one Ash Barty struggled on Sunday as Australia’s Elena Rybakina lost 6-3 6-2 at Memorial Drive, winning Adelaide’s international title and her 14th WTA title.

Barty, who won the 2020 tournament, dominated seventh-seeded Kazakhstan, 22, to win in just over an hour, peaking at just over a week before the start of the Australian Open in Melbourne.

“The work I do with my team behind the scenes puts me in the best possible position to play good tennis over and over and over and over again whenever we ask for it,” Barty told reporters. “I feel really good in the summer.

“I feel great for the Australian Open, as it happens every year. Every preparation is unique, every preparation is different.

“So we take it for what’s coming and what is, let’s go ahead and try to do whatever we can, at every opportunity, whether it’s here in Adelaide or Melbourne.”

The 25-year-old took command midway through the first set after being forced to save two break points in Game 7 and came back to victory despite a double error.

Host foul took advantage of an opponent’s foul after throwing what should have been a straight winner into the net and then slapping Barty’s ace to catch up with her.

When Rybakina failed to open the scoring, the Wimbledon champion ruthlessly seized the opportunity to put herself in a winning position.

Barty had the chance to break her own point in the next game, which she immediately converted. From there, the Australian took the lead.

Rybakina’s difficulties increased at the start of the second set, which was a double error that gave Barty another break in the opener.

Barty, who hasn’t conceded a serve since doing so against Coco Gauff in the tournament’s first round, has played seven straight games with another half-time break before it ends, leading 4-0 before to end a comfortable victory.

Halep wins in Melbourne

Former Simona Halep stormed Veronica Kudretova in straight sets in the Group 1 summer final in Melbourne on Sunday to win the title and give herself a huge boost of confidence ahead of the Australian Open.

Halep, who was forced out of Roland Garros last year, Wimbledon and Tokyo with a calf injury, showed no signs of a problem when she beat Kudermetova 6-2, 6-3 in 1 hour and 14 minutes.

Kudermetova started the competition tough by beating Halep and took a 2-1 lead in the first set, but the two-time Grand Slam champion responded well, smashing the right-back in the next game and then two more times to seal the first set 6.2.

The second set was similarly revealed as Kudermetova advanced and Halep rushed in to draw 2-2. Halep broke through a few games later at 5-3 and went on to hold his 23rd career title.

– It’s really nice to come back here and play against you. Thank you for your support, Halep told the audience at Rod Laver Arena who applauded the Romanian player from start to finish. “You helped me win.”

Earlier on Sunday, American Amanda Anisimova suffered an injury beating Aleksandra Sasnovic 7-5 1-6 6-4 and winning her second WTA title at the parallel Melbourne Summer Group 2 Championship.

Anisimova won the first set 7-5 after returning to action at half-time, but struggled in the second as Sasnovich had broken twice and was promoted 3-0.

When the squad was at 4-1, Anisimova took the time to heal her left thigh and returned to the game with her leg securely attached.

Anisimova, visibly embarrassed by injury, was on the verge of losing the second set and falling 3-0 in the third, but the American showed great determination to fight and break twice before finish his victory with a massive blow. .

“It’s good to start the year in a good place and to win the title, honestly I can’t ask for more,” said Anisimova.

Swiatek withdraws from Sydney event

The 20-year-old announced on Sunday that world ninth Iga Świątek had withdrawn from the Sydney Classic next week with a rib injury.

The Polish Świątek, champion of Roland-Garros 2020, lost on Saturday against Barty 6-2 6-4 in the semi-final of Adelaide International.

Swiatek was scheduled to play with US Open champion Emma Raducanu in the first round of the WTA 500 tournament in Sydney, on a pitch full of loud names and headed by Barty.

The Australian Open, the opening of this year’s Grand Slam, kicks off in Melbourne on January 17.

“After last week’s intense preseason and tournament in Adelaide, I feel my body needs more time to recover before the Australian Open,” Swiatek said in a statement on Twitter.

“I have pain in the lower ribs and that’s why I unfortunately decided to withdraw from the Sydney tournament.”