France has broken Aussie hearts as they snatch the Fed Cup on Australian shores.
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Ash Barty had totally dominated in her opening singles match when she defeated Caroline Garcia 6-0, 6-0.
The world no. 1 was looking to lead Australia to the title on home soil after just claiming the WTA Finals title.
It was Barty that had won all of her singles and doubles matches to lead Australia into the final, but on the final day she was not able to get a crucial win.
Ajla Tomljanovic had also tasted a heavy defeat on day one against the French no. 1 player Kristina Mladenovic.
Barty faced Mladenovic in the first of the reverse singles matches on day two. Barty looked in good touch once again as she took the first set but then the unforced errors started to mount.
The Australian did have a look at a break point at 4-3 but failed to convert. Mladenovic then turned up the heat and broke Barty before serving out the second set.
A few breaks of serve came in the deciding set before the players could not be split. A tie-breaker was needed to decide the winner. It was Mladenovic that cruised to a 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(1) victory.
The French decided to send Pauline Parmentier in against Ajlan Tomljanovic in order to keep Garcia fresh for the doubles.
Tomljanovic was able to keep the tie alive after defeating her opponent 6-4, 7-5.
So it would come down to the doubles. Garcia and Mladenovic had won the French Open doubles title in 2016 and were a regular combination back then.
That experience together would come in handy as they took on Barty and Sam Stosur.
Mladenovic had just last week clinched the WTA Finals doubles title.
In the doubles it was the French that were on top and they marched to Fed Cup victory with a 6-4, 6-3 win in the decisive rubber.
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For Ash Barty it was an emotional moment during the presentation. The current no. 1 singles player was hoping to again lead Australia to victory but Mladenovic had other ideas.
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