Aryna Sabalenka, world No. 2, displayed her power throughout the rounds and overwhelmed her opponents one after the other, to retain her title at the Australian Open on Saturday, a year after her first Grand Slam coronation in Melbourne .
Saturday evening, in the cool of the Rod Laver Arena, the final was a reflection of her brilliant Australian fortnight: she stunned the Chinese Zheng Qinwen, world n°15 and finalist for the first time in a Grand Slam, with her power. , winning 6-3, 6-2 in 76 min.
“It’s been an amazing two weeks, it’s incredible, I’m speechless,” smiles Sabalenka.
The 25-year-old Belarusian becomes the first player in more than ten years to score a double at the Australian Open, after her compatriot Victoria Azarenka, in 2012 and 2013.
It’s the story of ultradomination: during the entire fortnight in Melbourne, Sabalenka did not let a single round escape.
In seven matches, she has lost only 31 games, an average of less than five per match.
In total, she only spent a little over eight hours on court, or not much more than an hour per match.
Devastating Strikes
In the end, only the world No. 4 Coco Gauff withstood the shock a little more than all the others, losing in a hundred minutes 7-6 (7/2), 6-4 in the semi-final, but Sabalenka was took revenge on the final of the 2023 US Open won by the young American.
Other than that, there was never really a match. This was no longer the case on Saturday evening.
Broken from her first service game, broken again from the start of the second set, guilty of six double faults and constantly attacked by Sabalenka’s powerful and devastating catapult-style strikes, Zheng was never able to stand up to her .
Since her first major coronation at the Australian Open a year ago, Sabalenka has obviously changed in stature. She has just played in three of the last five major finals.
Beyond that, she has reached at least the semi-finals of the last six Grand Slam tournaments (since the 2022 United States Open) and the last two Masters.
Two explanations for this: a service more polluted by double faults galore – more than 400 during the 2022 season – and the serenity found on the court, when she had an unfortunate tendency to pull the pin before.
Top 10
“I no longer lose my head on the court, I don’t rush. I focus on what I need to do to win every match I play, without thinking too much about my dreams, how many Grand Slams I want to win, and all that, she explained during the tournament. It was a huge job”
“It comes with experience, I’m more mature, or older, it’s up to you,” she added.
Unexpected guest in the final, without having had to face a single player in the top 50, after the top seeds fell early one after the other in her half of the table, Zheng missed the opportunity to become the second Chinese winner in Grand Slam, exactly ten years after Li Na’s title in Melbourne.
The best Grand Slam run of her young career nevertheless earned her a choice reward: she will enter the top 10 on Monday, in seventh place.