Australian Open | Aryna Sabalenka triumphs and keeps her promise

Aryna Sabalenka lost her father tragically in 2019. She was 21 years old. Before this sudden death, the player had made a promise to her father: she was going to become world number one and holder of two major titles at the age of 25. She had already achieved the first objective. Now the prophecy has been completely fulfilled.

The Belarusian defended her Australian Open title with confidence on Saturday against Qinwen Zheng in two sets of 6-3, 6-2. It took 73 minutes.

Probably, from beyond, Papa Sabalenka smiled. Her daughter delivered the goods brilliantly, as only she knows how. The recipe is always the same for the second player in the world: power, skill, risk and explosiveness. But it remains effective and in good taste. Why change a winning recipe?

“I have to hold back so as not to cry. It’s not true that I’m going to cry! », Launched the winner in the center of the stadium.

The one who has become a specialist in the art of giving funny, touching and memorable speeches also wanted to dedicate her victory to her family, obviously. “I never talk about my family in my speeches, but I want to thank them, even if they won’t understand anything in English. At worst, someone will translate it for her, she added with a laugh. You are my biggest inspiration. »

Of course, Sabalenka was excited about this other important title. She clutched the trophy as if it were her own newborn.

However, this gain will not give him the number of points necessary to regain first place in the world. But in truth, the champion’s current rankings are not sufficiently representative of the quality of her game. She has already been on top of the world in September 2023 and she should still be there. No offense to Iga Swiatek, Sabalenka has no equal at the moment on the WTA circuit.

The tall right-hander triumphed without losing a single round in Australia. She has competed in 24 rounds and won 22 since the start of the new year.

Even more impressive, she has reached the semifinals at the last six major tournaments. Since Wimbledon 2021, this statistic stretches to eight semi-finals in 10 tournaments. These data demonstrate a consistency worthy of a first in class.

One-sided match

Dressed in bright red, tabby like the great Woods and like the one tattooed on her left forearm, Sabalenka had the knife between her teeth from the start of this final, which she began as a lioness. Nothing is a foregone conclusion in the world of sport, even less so in tennis, but the chances of winning for his opponent, young and full of potential, were as thin as an angel’s hair.

Zheng came to Rod Laver Stadium with a marked experience deficit. She also conceded to her opponent almost five additional hours of play since the start of the fortnight.

On a strong rise since last season, the 21-year-old was shaken up from the initial game. In a matter of seconds, Sabalenka had won her serve. The reigning champion was not laughing.

Barely time to cook a piece of toast and she already had a break in her pocket. The peanut butter hadn’t even been applied to the corners yet when Sabalenka had already saved three break points in the third game.

All the radars were predicting a deluge of winning shots and a short-lived storm. Some nostalgic for the summer period would even have mentioned the proverbial walk in the park.

However, the 12^e top seed refused to suffer humiliation in his first career Grand Slam final. She bounced back, notably thanks to her service. Very flat on her opening shot, the Chinese made six aces during the first round, the majority of which when she was fighting to stay alive at 5-2.

Sabalenka was unable to compete with her opponent in this regard, but if she won the first set in 33 minutes, it was mainly thanks to her efficiency on the first ball. In total, 94% of the points contested on his first serve went to his advantage.

Sabalenka’s progress on serve has been breathtaking over the past 12 months. She can rely even more on this lethal weapon to defeat any opponent.

Previously, each throw of the ball was like a roll of the dice. His board was full of aces, but also double faults. His ball placement was masterful and it visibly destabilized Zheng. The champion concluded the match by committing no double faults, making only three aces and winning 84% of her points on first serve. Day and night with her final against Elena Rybakina a year ago, where she made 17 aces, seven double faults and won 66% of her first serves.

The progression of the second racket in the world is impressive to the extent that even if she has very few flaws in her game and her attitude, she is gifted and humble enough to work on her weaknesses while accentuating her main qualities. She currently prioritizes placement over power, without denying her true nature. And it provides an amalgamation of moves and possibilities allowing him to climb the ladder one title at a time.

However, the emotion and fragility making her fallible resurfaced only once during the meeting. It was during the final game. Sabalenka broke Zheng twice in the final round, in the opening game and at 3-1. The lack of consistency and the absence of a clear tactic, despite all the will in the world and the sequences of service having sometimes surprised her rival, will have sunk the young finalist. But she held her ground until the very end, imposing five championship points on Sabalenka. After several ties, the Belarusian finally put an end to this match with a winning short cross.

The lessons

Despite a dry defeat and a first final that few people will remember a decade from now, Zheng proved great things during this Australian fortnight.

The Chinese took advantage of a relatively advantageous draw, as she did not face any seeded players before the final, and early failures of several seeded players at the top of the table, but she did not reach the final by chance.

His rise has been considerable over the past year. She won her first two titles in 2023, in addition to reaching the quarterfinals at the U.S. Open. This time last year, she was on 28^e rank. On Monday, she will join the top 10 for the first time.

The women’s ranking is so volatile that nothing guarantees her a long stay in this enviable portion of the table, but she has the tools to make her nest there. Intelligent on the serve, wide on the forehand, efficient on her sequences and regular from the baseline, the native of the province of Hubei, in the south-east of China, will be the second youngest young player in the top 10after Coco Gauff, 19 years old.

His match probably didn’t go as planned, but a final is never completely lost if you learn from it. And against the best player in the world, unofficially, she could only grow taller, despite being five feet and 10 inches tall.

“It’s my first final and I’m tired,” she said shyly into the microphone. Thank you for coming to see me. I am convinced that there will still be good tennis in me in the years to come. »

In Sabalenka’s case, this triumph in Oceania is perhaps the beginning of a great season. With the confidence shaken by the other core players in the women’s rankings, she currently reigns like a queen over a world that could be hers for a long time, if she so desires.