Aryna Sabalenka romps to third-straight Australian Open final

It’s no surprise Aryna Sabalenka is drawing comparisons to Serena Williams, but as of now those are unfair writes Julian Linden. Even if she may soon have something over the GOAT.

As the most powerful hitter in women’s tennis, it’s no surprise that Aryna Sabalenka is starting to earn comparisons with Serena Williams.

No matter how well intended, it’s an unfair comparison that does Sabalenka no favours at all.

She might be the world No. 1, but Sabalenka is a different player on a very different journey to the one Williams took.

The American legend won 23 grand slam singles titles, including seven Australian Opens. Sabalenka has just three majors, with two from Melbourne, though she might well win a third this year after beating Spain’s Paula Badosa 6-4 6-2 on Thursday night to seal her place in Saturday’s women’s final.

But for all her achievements, Williams never won three Australian Open titles in a row, so if she pulls it off this weekend, Sabalenka will at least have one thing over the GOAT.

At 26, Sabalenka is at her peak right now, both physically and mentally.

Sabalenka will be tough to bet against on Saturday night. Picture: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

She has always had a rocket of a serve and booming groundstrokes but there were times in the past when she’d dwell on mistakes too long then concede matches she should have won.

But not these days. Now, she’s as tough as anyone playing the game.

She showed that against Badosa, who is also a close personal friend who was appearing in her first grand slam semi-final.

They often wear the same outfits, share messages on social media and go shopping together. To help Badosa overcome her disappointment, Sabalenka promised to pay the bill from their next outing.

“No matter what has happened on court we are going to be friends after our matches. It’s tough to do but we agreed on that and I think we are doing it pretty well,” Sabalenka said.

“I hope she is still my friend, I’m sure she will hate me for the next hour or day but I’m OK with that, I can handle that but after that I think we are back to being friends and going out together and shopping.

“I promise Paula we can go shopping and I pay for whatever she wants.”

Their friendship was case aside from the moment they stepped on the Rod Laver Arena court because it was all business.

Sabalenka made a horrible start, conceding the first two games before staring at a double break point in the third, but that was nothing more than a false alarm.

Instead of panicking, she just dug deeper and raised her game to a level that Badosa was unable to cope with as Sabalenka took 12 of the next 16 games to seal victory in 86 minutes.

Sabalenka’s current streak is impressive. She has won her last 20 matches in a row at Melbourne. Of those 18 have been in two straight sets.

Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka (R) embraces Spain's Paula Badosa post-match. Picture: Martin KEEP / AFP

If she wins on Saturday, she’ll become just the eighth woman to complete a hat-trick in Australia: Martina Hingis, Steffi Graf, Monica Seles, Evonne Goolagong, Margaret Court, Nancye Wynne Bolton and Daphne Akhurst.

“Just saying that, I have goose bumps, honestly I am so proud of myself and my team that we were able to put ourselves in such a situation,” Sabalenka said.

“It’s a privilege and if I will be able to put my name in the history [books] it’s going to mean the world to me. It’s been a dream.

“I couldn’t even dream about that to be honest, at first I was dreaming to win at least one Grand Slam and now I have this opportunity and it’s incredible. I am going to go out and give everything I can in the final.”

Originally published as Aryna Sabalenka romps to third-straight Australian Open final