The Australian Open has a worthy winner. Aryna Sabalenka takes the title again. The world number two doesn’t lose a set in the entire tournament
When Aryna Sabalenka accepted the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup from Australia’s tennis legend Evonne Goolagong, the Belarusian was beaming all over her face. Sabalenka successfully defended her title at the Australian Open with an impressive performance. The 25-year-old tennis player beat Zheng Qinwen from China 6:3, 6:2 in the Melbourne final to celebrate her second Grand Slam title.
Sabalenka did not lose a set throughout the tournament. The world number two converted her fifth match point after just 76 minutes and then threw her arms up in the air. “I would never have dared to dream that I would win this wonderful trophy a second time,” said Sabalenka. Her opponent, who had no chance in the final, was disappointed. “I have the feeling that I could have played a little better today. But it’s an experience for me,” said Zheng Qinwen after the one-sided match in the Rod Laver Arena.
Sabalenka defends the title with dominance
Sabalenka won the first Grand Slam title of the year after dominating the Yarra River event almost at will for two weeks. Starting with a clear 6-0, 6-1 win over German qualifier Ella Seidel, Sabalenka stormed through the tournament. American US Open champion Coco Gauff was also no threat to Sabalenka in the semi-finals. World number one Iga Swiatek from Poland was surprisingly eliminated in the third round.
Sabalenka also set the pace from the start in the final. The favorite managed a quick break, and with her powerful groundstrokes and strong serve, she gave Zheng Qinwen no chance. The vociferous support of the many Chinese spectators in the Rod Laver Arena did not help the world number 15 either. Sabalenka took the first set after 33 minutes.
Zheng Qinwen was the first Chinese woman to reach the final since Li Na ten years ago. Her great tennis idol had won the title in Melbourne in 2014 and had finally become a superstar in her home country. Zheng Qinwen was far from repeating this triumph on Saturday.
Sabalenka also had everything under control in the second set. The Belarusian managed another quick break, also because Zheng Qinwen made three double faults. The Chinese player tried to hold her own and also managed a few good points. However, the 21-year-old didn’t really stand a chance against the overpowering defending champion. Sabalenka didn’t let a brief interruption at the start of the second set due to a spectator’s pro-Palestine protest get her out of her rhythm
Sinner and Medvedev in the men’s final
Italy’s Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev’s conqueror Daniil Medvedev from Russia will face each other in the men’s final this Sunday. It is Sinner’s first ever Grand Slam final. The South Tyrolean has dominated the tournament impressively so far and ended Novak Djokovic’s super streak in the semi-finals. The Serb, who has triumphed ten times in Melbourne so far, had previously won 33 matches in a row in Melbourne.
For Medvedev, on the other hand, it is already the sixth final at one of the four most important tournaments in the world. In the semi-final on Friday, he came back from two sets down against Zverev to win the match in five sets. The world number three has already reached the final twice in Melbourne, but lost both times.