Crowds at Melbourne Park were capped at 30,000 per day at the start of the tournament -- around 50% of the usual attendance -- but only 21,000 came through the gates on Thursday.
American Williams has been stuck on 23 majors since triumphing at Melbourne Park in 2017, losing four Grand Slam finals since to remain one short of Margaret Court's record.
I felt really comfortable in the tournament leading up to this just a couple days ago when I was playing.
Barty reached the semi-finals at Melbourne Park for the first time last year before sitting out most of the rest of the season at home because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
They can think whatever they like. If they expect me to win the tournament, then that's their expectations.