Belarusian defeats Rybakina to finally fulfill expectations
MELBOURNE: Aryna Sabalenka got down to the ball and watched it float long before flipping around and falling on her back. Rod Laver Arena exhaled. A flood of tears, a howling storm of emotion washed over the strapping Belarusian, who has been climbing the rankings and dancing around the winner's circle these past seasons. Thrice she came up just short, falling in the semifinals. On a windswept Saturday she blasted through the gates to claim her first Grand Slam title – the Australian Open.
Sabalenka, 25, playing her first Major final, pipped Elena Rybakina 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to hold aloft the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup, presented to her by the legendary Billie Jean King.
"Sorry for my English, Oh God! I'm shaking, I'm super nervous," said Sabalenka, whose story — of a varying ball toss and a straying serve, double faults and doubts, the loss of her father in 2019 and shaky self-belief — resonated across the tennis landscape.
So much so that the full-house was at the edge of their seats trying to push the Belarussian over the line. They wanted it almost as much as she had wanted it for herself. "Thank you (to the crowd) for this amazing atmosphere, it was enjoyable to play before you. I have the craziest team on the Tour and we've been through a lot of downs. You guys deserve the trophy more than me," she said.
Sabalenka, who is working with her former hitting partner Anton Dubrov, who has stood by her through some difficult times, led the appreciation by 'hearting' her acknowledgement — his fingers coming together in the shape of a heart.
Sabalenka was broken in the third game of the final in which she threw in a double fault and then went wide on the backhand. As serve and nerve shook Rybakina, the Wimbledon champion, locked up the opening set.
1/10:Aryna Sabalenka clinches first Grand Slam title at Australian Open
AFP
2/10:Sabalenka reigns supreme
<p>Aryna Sabalenka bludgeoned her way to a maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open on Saturday.<br /></p>Getty Images
3/10:A come-from-behind victory
<p>Sabalenka registered an incredible 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 come-from-behind win over Kazakh 22nd seed Elena Rybakina.<br /></p>Getty Images
4/10:A 148-minute blockbuster
<p>The thrilling finale between the two of the most exciting power-hitters in the women's game lasted two hours and 28 minutes.<br /></p>Getty Images
5/10:The moment
<p>The hard-hitting Belarusian collapsed to the court in tears after winning against the Wimbledon champion in a high-quality arm-wrestle on Rod Laver Arena.<br /></p>Getty Images
6/10:When Rybakina drew first blood
<p>Rybakina cruised through the first set 6-4 in just 34 minutes.<br /></p>Getty Images
7/10:The fightback
<p>Sabalenka scrapped her way back in a 57-minute second set, winning 6-3 to take the final to a nervy decider.<br /></p>Reuters
8/10:Toe-to-toe battle in decider
<p>In the decider, it was 3-3 as the contest heated up but then Sabalenka edged away to a 5-3 lead and eventually won the decider 6-4.<br /></p>AFP
9/10:World no.2
<p>With the Australian Open title in the pocket, Sabalenka will now rise to second in the world, equalling her career high.<br /><br /></p>AFP
10/10:In the top 10
<p>Rybakina will have the consolation of breaking into the top 10 for the first time, after reaching her second Grand Slam final in seven months.<br /></p>Reuters"Come on, sweetheart," a spectator urged early in the contest when it looked like the fifth seed had beaten herself into a hole.
Sabalenka, who has finished in the top-10 of the WTA rankings the last three years, and around about at No. 11 for another two, has long danced in the top echelons of the sport.
The best player yet to win a major title, they said of her, wondering if she'd ever get there. The 25-year-old raged at the weight she was forced to carry and let her angst show. She was taking her time, she understood, but she was determined. And no one recognized that better than the crowd at the Rod Laver Arena.
In the second set, the 23-yearold Rybakina started giving more spin to her backhand, shaping shots with a loop.
Sabalenka smelled opportunity and was all over the Kazakh on a bitter-sweet evening at Melbourne Park, when the southerly winds blowing across the Yarra and the sprawling tennis precincts forced fans to pull their jackets tighter and the ladies in the middle to hit the accelerator.
Sabalenka, who'll move up to No. 2 in the WTA rankings on Monday, equalling her best, had 17 aces and 51 winners in the two-hour 28-minute final that was all about destructive firepower.
