At Wimbledon, top seed Ash Barty carefully conquers French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova

MATCH POINT: Barty completes a 6-4, 6-4 win to reach her first Wimbledon quarterfinal

A major reason why Ash Barty is so engaging to watch is that she can take on a variety of roles. There’s the athlete, graced with exquisite hand-eye coordination and silky-smooth movement. There’s the artist, widely versed in the tennis lexicon—the Aussie able to craft a deft half-volley, an inspired lob, a pinpoint serve.

Today, though, athlete and artist took a backseat to a role less visceral, but arguably more important if a player hopes to win seven matches at the All England Club. Barty’s fourth-round win over Barbora Krejcikova showcased her skills as a problem-solver, a 7-5, 6-3 victory that was less a case of momentum gained, and more one of toothpick-by-toothpick assembly.

“I just needed to allow myself time to settle in and kind of figure out her patterns,” said Barty, “then how I was going to bring it back to my patterns as regularly as possible.”

In theory, this matchup between two Roland Garros champions held promise as a stylistic delight. Barty and Krejcikova are smooth, all-court players, adept in all corners, including the pleasing high levels of touch and crispness in the front part of the court that have earned each Grand Slam doubles titles.

But then again, Barty and Krejcikova usually deploy their colorful arrays versus far more monochromatic opponents. So as this match got underway, there was a certain awkward quality to the rallies. It was reminiscent of the 2006 Wimbledon final between Amelie Mauresmo and Justine Henin. Like those two greats, Barty and Krejcikova are virtuosos; denied the opportunity posed by juxtaposition, but instead forced to look in a mirror and commence probe and parry.

Early on, the underdog managed this challenge much more proficiently. A cucumber-cool Krejcikova broke Barty at 1-all and held easily to go up 4-2, showing the same kind of fluid power and nimble aggression that earned her both the singles and doubles titles in Paris.

With Barty serving at 2-4, Krejcikova went up 30-40. Through these first seven games, Barty looked passive, seemingly more content to measure her opponent than heartily joust.

“Probably for the first 15 or 20 minutes, I felt like I was really struggling to pick up her ball off her racquet,” Barty said. “I wasn't able to make enough, give myself a chance to get into games, plain and simple.”

Barty fought off that break point with a sharp crosscourt forehand. Even then, Krejcikova progressed and served at 4-3, 40-15. A netted backhand drop shot and a double-fault evened the game. Soon enough, Barty broke.

But it would be inaccurate to say that from here, Barty broke the match wide open. Rather, she gently pried it apart, akin to the slow and difficult cracking of a walnut.

As much as Barty enjoys opening up the court with angles and spins, she began to see today that a fissure of sorts was available when hitting deep and down the middle—but not necessarily hard—to the Krejcikova forehand. That became at least a point of entry.

Serving at 4-5, Krejcikova misfired badly on three forehands. Though she fought off a set point and held for 5-all, the brilliant flow the Czech had shown earlier had worn off, the slight infection uncovered in one area affecting her movement and confidence across the board. There came another missed forehand at 5-6, love-30.

On the set point at love-40, Barty sliced a backhand pass down the line as Krejcikova flagged a forehand volley long. By the end of the match, Krejcikova had made 13 forehand errors to just three off the backhand.

Barty and Krejcikova are virtuosos; denied the opportunity posed by juxtaposition, but instead forced to look in a mirror and commence probe and parry.

Three costly forehand mistakes came when Krejcikova served at 3-4 in the second set, including a shank at 30-40. These miscues, though, are rarely made in a vacuum. Barty had at last made the discovery and pecked away. And yet, such was the stylistic tussle—and probably a case of nerves, given the occasion—that Barty didn’t so much sprint as lurch towards the finish line.

Seeking to close out the match at 5-3, the Aussie opened the game with a tentative approach and volley to go down love-15. Next came a Barty forehand into the net. At 30-all, Barty netted a backhand. Naturally, on the next two points she again coaxed forehand error. And where else to aim this hoped-for final serve but to the Krejcikova forehand? Here the problem-solver joined forces with the athlete and the artist: a sublime ace right down the T.

Two years ago in the round of 16, also the top seed at Wimbledon, Barty was upset by Alison Riske. Now she’s in the quarterfinals here for the first time, having come through a tricky battle versus an opponent who’d won 15 straight matches. And yet, as weighted with significance as Wimbledon is, as adept as Barty is as athlete, artist and problem-solver, she’s also aware that tennis is, most all, a game—nothing less, nothing more. The light yet focused way she manages the ebb and flow of a match make Barty one of the most captivating players of recent times.

“We go out there with a plan,” said Barty. “Things don't always go to plan, patterns change, opponents are unpredictable. That's what I love about sport, there's no certainty, no guarantees. It's just go out there play and enjoy it.”