No.9 seed Mona Barthel overcame Australian rising star Ashleigh Barty 2-6 6-0 6-1 to keep her title defence on track.
With four of the five earlier matches going to three sets it was a late start for the final match of the day with play commencing at 11:22 PM.
Barty, fresh from a confidence boosting win over former world No. 4 Francesca Schiavone in Perth last week, started the game well breaking the defending champ in the opening game of the match. Despite giving up two break points at 5-2 the 16-year-old Australian maintained her composure saving a couple of break points before closing out the set with a ripping forehand winner.
The second set was a different story however with Barthel stepping it up a gear, holding serve in the first game before sending two brutal service returns back past the young Aussie to take an early break. From there Barthel never looked back, taking the next 11 games before Barty managed to get on the board at 5-1 in the third.
Full credit must go to the young Australian who continued to battle hard, but at the end of the day the defending champs booming serve and powerful groundstrokes proved too much, the game all over in just over an hour.
Barty’s focus now turns to the doubles draw and the upcoming Australian open.
“I’ve had great preparation, I’ve had four games now and I’ve got doubles in a couple more days with Bojjy [Bojana Bobusic] so that should be good fun to get back out there,” she said.
While for Mona Barthel, it will be a short turnaround, scheduled to face off against South African Chanelle Scheepers tomorrow night as she seeks to defend her 2012 crown.
By Nick Cuthbertson