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Aryna Sabalenka WINS the Australian Open and becomes tennis’ first NEUTRAL champion after coming from a set down to beat Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina 4-6 6-3 6-4 in a thrilling final at Melbourne Park
- Aryna Sabalenka defeated Elena Rybakina 4-6 6-3 6-4 to win the Australian Open
- The Australian Open is the first Grand Slam title of the world number 5’s career.
- Wimbledon champion Rybakina was seeking her second major title
The tennis world’s policy of allowing players from banned nations to continue to compete produced its first neutral champion at the Australian Open.
Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka may be without a flag but she has her first Grand Slam title after winning an excellent women’s final, beating Elena Rybakina 4-6 6-3 6-4 in two hours and 28 minutes.
It was the seventh consecutive time in Grand Slam matches that he has won again after losing the first set.
Aryna Sabalenka won the Australian Open after defeating Elena Rybakina 4-6 6-3 6-4
Sabalenka, serving up 17 aces, won a match of sometimes surprising power as she secured a fourth match point at 5-4, with a double fault in the first.
Missing out at Wimbledon, she has now achieved what has long been predicted for a leading athlete who has in the past been held back by nerves on big occasions.
The players emerged to be greeted by the sight of a few empty seats around the upper levels of Rod Laver Arena, a measure that this was not a game that was easy to put a lot of emotional investment into.
Tickets were selling for less than a third of those for the men’s final, though still for a healthy £150 each.
The Belarusian was filled with emotions after serving to clinch the first Grand Slam title of her career in a thrilling final at Melbourne Park.
Sabalenka and Rybakina received their trophies from the great tennis player Billie Jean King
The Belarusian paid tribute to her team in her acceptance speech at Rod Laver Arena
Rybakina is the introvert who switched from Russia to Kazakhstan, thus avoiding the kind of controversy Sabalenka has had to deal with.
The Wimbledon champion has a slight build, but she hits the ball so cleanly and with such timing that she could almost match her opponent’s pace.
She made her first advances to break for 2-1 and a key differential in the first set was protecting her second serve. Sabalenka was hitting her second fastest delivery, but the five double faults in the first set were crucial.
Sabalenka pulled back for 4-4 but it was a double fault that immediately returned the break.
Rybakina won the first set 6-4 and looked on her way to winning a second Grand Slam title after triumphing at Wimbledon in July last year.
But the Kazakh had no answers for Sabalenka as the world number 5 roared back into the contest.
The Belarusian hit 80 per cent of her first serve, putting pressure on Rybakina
The Belarusian has a history of second-serve problems, but holding her first serve around 80 per cent of the time, she was able to preserve her early second-serve break.
She tied the match at one set with her twelfth ace after a set that had lasted 23 minutes longer than the first, despite lasting a game longer.
They were on 66 points apiece at the start of the third, and Rybakina’s hyperactive coach Stefano Vukos was showing red flags.
Deciding sets have been few and far between in the second week of the tournament. Sabalenka was now making inroads on her opponent’s second serve, but the Kazakh held on until the pressure caught on and broke 4-3. Sabalenka’s serve allowed her to reach the victory post from there, although the last moments were nerve-wracking.