Ash Barty defeats Danielle Collins to win Australian Open

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Ashleigh Barty ended a 44-year drought Saturday by becoming the first Australian to win an Australian Open singles title since 1978.

The world No. 1 and crowd favourite capped off a dominant fortnight at Melbourne Park, overcoming American 27th seed Danielle Collins 6-3, 7-6(2) on Rod Laver Arena, to clinch her home Slam without dropping a single set.

After wrapping up a comfortable first set in just 32 minutes, Barty found herself in a 1-5 hole when Collins began to apply her trademark aggression and fierce groundstrokes at the beginning of the second set.

But Barty was able to rally and reel off four consecutive games to draw level at 5-5, and eventually take the set…