'Dasha' recalled a recent exchange with Barty where she needed a lift back from training, yet was daunted by asking the top-ranked women's player – entirely needlessly, as it turned out.<\/p>\n
"I have a lot of respect for Ash," Gavrilova said.<\/p>\n
"You know, she was training at Xavier [College] while internationals were in quarantine, and me and [husband] Luke [Saville] just are sharing one car and he left, but he was going to drop me off. <\/p>\n
"Anyway, long story. I was, like, scared to ask Ash for a lift. <\/p>\n
"I was like, 'Ash, can you please give me a lift?' She's like, 'Oh, my God, you're an idiot. Like, let's go'."<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Gavrilova said that she enjoyed Barty's company despite being a polar opposite personality. She said that he rise to the top of the sport had been great for Australian tennis.<\/p>\n
"Yeah, she's incredible," Gavrilova said. <\/p>\n
"You know, she's someone if we travel, she's the first one to find a good coffee shop and then we, yeah, she's a morning person, I think. She loves her coffee.<\/p>\n
"But we are probably, like definitely, completely different personalities. Like complete opposite. But we get along on tour and yeah, she's someone I definitely look up to.<\/p>\n
"I'm pretty proud that we've got someone like Ash and, you know, playing Fed Cup with her – Billie Jean King Cup now – is always fun and she just represents us, meaning like, Billie Jean King Cup and Australia, so well.<\/p>\n
"She's an incredible player but her tennis smarts are incredible. Before a tie, we always play team analysis, like the opposition analysis, and she's always spot on. She's just spot on every time."<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Aussie vs Aussie clash on Thursday at Melbourne Park will be a headline match and Gavrilova, currently ranked No.387 thanks to injuries and granted a wildcard for the Open, is excited for the encounter. <\/p>\n
"Yeah, I'm pretty excited. I mean, I haven't played Ash in ages," Gavrilova said, with Barty leading 3-1 head to head and the winner when they last met in Madrid during 2019.<\/p>\n
"Yeah, it's gonna be really fun. You know, I don't know what court we are going to be on, but I love the big show and I'm sure a lot of people are going to come out and watch. So I'm pretty excited."<\/p>\n
While Gavrilova beat Sara Sorribes Tormo<\/a> 6-1 7-5, Barty inflicted a double bagel 6-0 6-0 defeat on Danka Kovinic<\/a>. The Aussie world No.1 said that she'd missed playing on the big stage, having been inactive on the tour since last February.<\/p>\n "Every single day," Barty said, when asked if she'd missed playing. <\/p>\n "The competitor in me missed what this is all about. That's what I missed the most – coming out here and really enjoying the thrill of the fight."<\/p>\n For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0clicking here!<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"