Aryna Sabalenka scripts stunning come-from-behind victory against Elena Rybakina to lift Australian Open title
In a battle between two biggest hitters of the game, Aryna Sabalenka reigned supreme against the current Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina.
In the Australian Open women’s singles final at the Rod Laver Arena on Saturday, winning 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to lift her maiden Grand Slam title. This was her 11th straight win since the start of 2023, which implies that the Belarusian will return to a career-high ranking of number two behind Iga Swiatek, and her second title after win in Adelaide.
Sabalenka fired as many as 51 winners from her racquet of the total 82 winners struck in the match between two most fearless offensive players, hence promising what the entire narrative of the build-up to the final was. But the Sabalenka’s victory was down to her improved mental stability which eventually helped her script the stunning comeback.
It was Rybakina who drew first blood, going 3-1 up in the opening set after the fifth-seed dropped her huge serve with a double fault and then sent a forehand long. Sabalenka immediately responded by breaking back, putting pressure back on the Kazakh. But the response was a second break as Sabalenka double-faulted for a fifth time before she comfortably wrapped up the set. It was the first time that Sabalenka dropped a set in her 11 wins since the start of the season.
Sabalenka new she had the edge over Rybakina in terms of athleticism and hence began to attack the second serve and drew the no.22 seed into longer rallies. Rybakina’s win behind her second serve noticeably went down from an impressive 75 per cent to 44. Another difference was the rally length. In the opening set, Rybakina dominated the shorter rallies (0-4) with 23-17 win. Only 13 of the 53 points played in that set were of more than four shots. The number increased to 26 in the second set with Sabalenka having the edge. The Belarusian eventaully broke serve for a 3-1 lead and later levelled the match with her 11th and 12th aces.
Sabalenka stayed true to her strategy, enforcing deeper returns and damage Rybakina’s defense to break serve and take 5-3 lead. The 24-year-old then double-faulted on one championship-point and squandered two more before finally prevailing to claim the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup.
“I am super nervous, I want to thank Miss King she has done so much, congratulations, Elana. Hopefully, we will have many more battles, hopefully in the final of grand slams. Thank you everyone, and thanks guys for an amazing atmosphere. It was an enjoyable tournament to play in. Thanks to my team, they are the craziest team on the tour. We have been through a lot downs last year. You guys deserve this trophy more than me. I hope next year I come back even stronger and I will show you even better tennis,” she said after the win.