NEW YORK -- Perspective has never been a problem for Ashleigh Barty. It's what helped her when she stepped away from tennis earlier in her career to play cricket and when she made her way to the top of the sport as one of the most humble of Grand Slam champions.
So while the No. 2 seed's 6-2, 6-4 defeat by No. 18 Wang Qiang in the fourth round on Sunday was a natural disappointment, the Australian sees the bigger picture -- 2019 will go down as a great year for her. It's the year she won her first slam title at Roland Garros.
"It's been incredible," Barty said of her Grand Slam year. "It's a tough day at the office today, but it's been a year where we've hit our goals.
"We've had a great season in Grand Slams for singles. We've made the second week every single one, which has been really special. Now we'll sit back, reflect and look forward to a big couple months to finish off the year."
It is less than three months since Barty sliced and diced her way to the title at Roland Garros, becoming the first Australian woman to win the title since Margaret Court 46 years ago.
Two weeks later, the 23-year-old became the world No. 1 for the first time. Although she lost in the fourth round at Wimbledon and at the same stage in New York, Barty has no regrets.
"I don't think the second week of a slam is a missed opportunity," she said. "It's a hell of an effort for all slams to get to the second week. Yes, I would have loved to have done better. It wasn't to be. But ... certainly not something I'm stressed about."
"I think it's easy to put into perspective because of the person I am, the team that I have around me. It doesn't matter whether I win a tennis match or not, I've won a Grand Slam or I haven't. It's not really something that keeps me up at night.
"I know that I did everything possible to try and prepare as well as I could today and played as well as I could. But in the big moments, it wasn't there."
Barty made 39 unforced errors against Wang, with her backhand slice, usually one of her best shots, off-color throughout. Wang took full advantage to reach her first Grand Slam quarterfinal, where she awaits Serena Williams or Petra Martic.
Things could still end well in New York for Barty. If Karolina Pliskova fails to reach the semifinals, and if Naomi Osaka does not successfully defend her title, then Barty will regain the No. 1 ranking when the tournament is completed.
And there is still the matter of doubles at Flushing Meadows. Twelve months ago, Barty won the title with American Coco Vandeweghe. Now she's trying to win it again with former world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka, with the pair due to play their third-round match on Monday.
"Obviously I would have loved to have kept going here in singles, but we've got an opportunity to do that in doubles," Barty said.
"Knowing what it was like last year to be able to lift the trophy in doubles was really cool. To be able to have another opportunity to do that now, still being able to play in doubles, is a bonus."