Ash Barty is on the Sam Kerr bandwagon as soccer’s “special” talent strives to inspire another iconic Australian sporting moment.
Two and a half years after Barty’s hoodoo-busting Australian Open tennis victory, Kerr is now carrying the hopes of a nation in trying to lead the Matildas to a similarly seismic Women’s World Cup football triumph.
The superstar striker has wrenched the baton from the retired Barty as Australia’s most popular athlete and will be the country’s most watched, idolised and scrutinised player on the planet when the World Cup starts on Thursday.
But Barty believes if anyone can cope with such intense glare and pressure, it’s golden girl Kerr.
“I’ve only met Sam once, in Tokyo at the Olympics, but have admired her for a long time,” Barty told AAP ahead of the Matildas’ tournament opener against Ireland in Sydney.
“Her drive and tenacity to be successful in every team she plays in is special.
“The way she has taken control of her own career, her sheer talent and what she has done to inspire Australian kids to play football is amazing.
“I wish Sam and the team the best of luck for the World Cup. I love watching the Matildas play and will be cheering loudly from home.”
Barty’s endorsement of the back-flipping goal-scorer comes after Kerr was gushing in her mutual admiration of the triple grand slam champion, former world No.1 and now blissfully content mother of two-week-old son Hayden.
The Chelsea star and Matildas captain previously declared Barty the cream of the crop in a decorated list of Australian women’s sports stars.
“When I look at people like Ash Barty I’m like ‘man, that girl’s sick’. She literally wins everything, she’s so humble. I’d probably put her at the top right now – only because I want to have a Barty party,” Kerr told AAP in 2021.
“That’s for other people to decide. I do everything I can to be in that conversation and win as many trophies and be talked about by people for years to come.
“I’m not going to say ‘I’m as good as Ash’, because I just can’t ever see myself doing that.
“But I’m really proud to be leading the way with all of those athletes. I saw Ash at the Olympics and our whole team was fan-girling over Ash.
“That’s such a cool thing to have now in women’s sport, that there’s all these different people that young girls and boys can look up to.”
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