SEEMINGLY having somewhere to be quickly, Australian world number one Ash Barty has dismantled yet another opponent. This time the unlucky player was Italian qualifier Lucia Bronzetti, who lasted less than an hour at the Barty Party before it was lights out for the 23-year-old world number 142. Barty was as swift and clinical as she was brutal, not wasting any time in winning 6-1 6-1 and spending just 52 minutes on Rod Laver Arena.

Barty has dropped just three games and spent just an hour and 44 minutes on court. By comparison, her next opponent 30th seed Italian Camila Giorgi needed an hour and 37 minutes just to dismiss Czech Tereza Martincova. The Italian has looked good in the opening two rounds, not dropping a set, and also accounting for Russian Anastasia Potapova in the first round, 6-4 6-0. However, Barty is a different level altogether.

Looking at her Summer so far, Barty has not dropped a match, and since going a set and a break down against Coco Gauff, the Australian has not dropped set. Entering the Australian Open as the world number one for the second consecutive year, she is hoping to go deeper than her career-best semi-final two years ago, where she lost to eventual winner, Sofia Kenin. Giorgi has earned a third round spot at Melbourne Park for the fourth time in her career.

In her 6-1 6-1 blitz over Bronzetti, Barty slammed home 21 winners and eight aces. She broke five times from six chances and won 52 per cent of her receiving points, whilst never facing a break point herself. In the first set, Barty raced to a 5-0 lead in 18 minutes before Bronzetti held serve in the sixth game. Barty held herself to win the first set, before Bronzetti started the second set on a high, holding serve in the opening game. That is where business returned to normal, as Barty proceeded to win six consecutive games and storm to a 6-1 6-1 victory.

“It was absolutely incredible. She said to me at the net she really enjoyed the experience,” Barty said of her opponent Bronzetti. “I feel like we’ve had a really good preparation in Adelaide.

“We’ve played well, we were able to get through some really tough matches and Tyzz (coach Craig Tyzzer) is the master… We’re enjoying our tennis and being able to produce some pretty good stuff.”

Now setting her sights on Giorgi, Barty will attempt to make it four from four against the hard-hitting 30-year-old Italian when they play on Friday. The last time they played was in the second round of the 2018 Australian Open at Rod Laver Arena. Barty won 5-7 6-4 6-1, with a walkover at Birmingham the year before, and a 6-3 6-0 win at Strasbourg in May, 2017.