Ash Barty's surprise fourth-round defeat to unheralded American Alison Riske at Wimbledon was a bitter pill to swallow after her giddy ride to the top of world tennis but the Australian said it would only fortify her for the rest of the year, reports Reuters.
Having seemed invincible since her maiden Grand Slam triumph at Roland Garros, Barty was overhauled in three sets by Riske, who lived up to her name by attacking relentlessly on Court Two.
The result snapped Barty's 15-match winning streak while cutting short her run at a tournament where she had not dropped a set and seemed in complete command.
"It's disappointing right now. Give me an hour or so, we'll be all good. The sun's still going to come up tomorrow," Barty told reporters.
"Overall it's been a hell of a trip ... Obviously it's a tough pill to swallow. In the same breath, it's been an incredible few months.
"New ground for me here at Wimbledon. This is the best we've done. "Also proud of the fact what we've been able to do over the last eight weeks," she added.
Barty captured the world number one ranking during her win at the leadup event in Birmingham but the loss to Riske threatened to make her reign a short one.
