Tears and power as Sabalenka digs deep for breakthrough major win

Aryna Sabalenka possesses an arsenal of formidable quality on the tennis court, but it is her resilience and willingness to improve which proved critical to her Australian Open triumph.

The Belarusian, who claimed her first grand slam title with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 triumph over reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, fell to the ground in tears after winning.

The 24-year-old’s ecstasy is starkly different to the uncertain star who left Melbourne Park bereft of confidence 12 months ago when unable to land a serve with any reliability.

The longer this final went, the more secure she was on the delivery, which makes the investment Sabalenka made in the biomechanist who fixed her serve priceless.

After dropping the first set courtesy of a wobble on serve, she responded brilliantly to the challenge in an enthralling decider where both finalists whipped winners at will.

Critically, it was her once infamously fraught serve which proved the difference in the latter two sets, with the 24-year-old holding every service game after the first set.

There was another wobble on match point, with the new world No.2 double-faulting for the first time in the third set.

Aryna Sabalenka lets the emotions flow after her gripping women’s final victory.Credit: Eddie Jim

But she nailed a big serve to save a break point and eventually clinched a decider lasting 2 hours, 28 minutes on her fourth match point.

With a grand slam title to her name, Sabalenka is surging to the top and shapes as a worthy challenger to world No. 1 Iga Swiatek, a player she defeated in the 2022 WTA Finals.

Shortly after Rybakina clinched the opening set of the final, a message lobbed in the work inbox with an assessment of the ball-bursting bludgeoning approach from both players.

“My kingdom for a sliced backhand. Or a drop shot. Or a net approach. Just anything to change things up,” the message read.

Aryna Sabalenka falls to the court after completing the come-from-behind win.Credit: Eddie Jim

The finalists are outstanding tennis players blessed with phenomenal power. They strike their serves with blistering pace and thunder groundstrokes with venom.

For those who prefer aesthetically pleasing tennis, with slices and volleys and court craft coming to the fore, this was not necessarily a match for them. But it was still a great final.

Their styles contrasted starkly to the manner with which 2022 champion Ash Barty, who brought the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup on to court on Saturday, claimed the crown.

So too, for that manner, the legends Evonne Goolagong Cawley and Billie Jean King, who sat beside each other and shot the breeze early on while the finalists slugged it out.

Aryna Sabalenka unleashes a forehand.Credit: Getty Images

That is not to be dismissive of either the champion or the runner-up. Players work to their weapons and both Rybakina and Sabalenka stand above 1.8 metres and are athletic stars.

They boast flatter, harder serves and proved capable of blasting aces regularly, with Sabalenka clubbing 17 for the final, including five in the final set.

To be accurate, Barty was also blessed with a superb serve and her variety made it even more potent, with the Queenslander ranking highly in statistical measures during her reign.

But she had to work the angles and use her subtle changes of trajectory and spin to win points. While capable of ripping a forehand winner, her all-round package was more crucial.

Elena Rybakina was gallant in defeat in a gripping decider.Credit: AP

Sabalenka and Rybakina, in contrast, favour first-strike tennis and thumped winners throughout.

By the start of the third set, the Belarusian had whipped 33 winners past Rybakina, who was more than upholding her own end of the bargain with 18 to her name.

The average rally length for the match was 3.28 shots, well below the 4.2 shots per match averaged through until the end of the fourth round of the Australian Open.

There were some spectacular points. And the blistering winners had a near-capacity crowd gasping in awe as well.

Barty’s reign is over. The style is different. And if Sabalenka is the future, expect power to reign supreme.

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