Aryna Sabalenka: With the victory, the world No. 2 became the second woman to win back-to-back titles at Melbourne Park, following Victoria Azarenka in 2012 and 2013.
Aryna Sabalenka smashed Qinwen Zheng’s hopes in the women’s singles at Rod Laver Arena on Saturday, winning 6-3, 6-2 in less than an hour to successfully defend her Australian Open title. With the victory, the world No. 2 became the second woman to win back-to-back titles at Melbourne Park, following Victoria Azarenka in 2012 and 2013.
Sabalenka did not drop a single set over the fortnight, winning 28 of her previous 29 matches in Melbourne, including her title-winning run in 2023. The 25-time tour-level champion became the sixth player in history to win the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup without dropping a set, following Ash Barty in 2022, Serena Williams in 2017, Maria Sharapova in 2008, and Lindsay Davenport in 2000.
Sabalenka became the 10th active WTA player to win multiple Slams, joining Iga Swiatek, Naomi Osaka, Garbiñe Muguruza, Simona Halep, Petra Kvitova, Azarenka, Angelique Kerber, Svetlana Kuznetsova, and Venus Williams.
Sabalenka delivered a superb set of aggressive tennis, never allowing Zheng to establish her flow. She broke the Chinese early in the first set with a powerful backhand, taking a 2-0 lead. In the following game, the No. 12 seed swiftly produced three break-point possibilities for herself, but the Belarusian held her own. That game established the tone for the remainder of the match as Zheng battled to establish a foothold. The only good feature of the set was Zheng’s increase in the percentage of first-serves she landed, from 56% to 63%, including six aces.
Sabalenka, in the meantime, dominated with her serve, despite falling down on the winners count—14 to Zheng’s 19—as she struck 67% of her first serves while dropping only six points in the first set.
The 2023 US Open finalist then broke twice in the second set, once early and then late, as Zheng struggled to strike her first serves. Sabalenka surged to a 4-1 lead with three double faults in the first game and two more in the fifth. Zheng staged a late comeback in the second set, saving four championship opportunities as Sabalenka surged to 5-2, 40-0, going to deuce twice before converting a break point. However, the defending champion concentrated on her serve and scored her fifth championship point with a flawless forehand one-two punch.
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