Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, February 17, 2021 Australia's Ashleigh Barty in action during her quarter final match against Czech Republic's Karolína Muchova REUTERS/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake
MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Ash Barty confessed to being heartbroken at coming up short in the Australian Open quarter-finals on Wednesday but did not want the shock defeat to distract from her successful return to tennis after a year on the sidelines.
The world number one returned to the tour for the Melbourne Park warm-up tournaments after staying at home to try to sit out the COVID-19 pandemic, running up an eight-match winning streak before Wednesday's 1-6 6-3 6-2 loss to Karolina Muchova.
