Aryna Sabalenka overpowers Qinwen Zheng to claim second consecutive Australian Open title
Aryna Sabalenka delivered an utterly dominant performance on Saturday to become the first woman in 11 years to retain the Australian Open title, sending a warning to her rivals.
The Belarusian defeated Zheng Qinwen 6-3, 6-2 in 76 minutes, emulating compatriot Victoria Azarenka's 2012-13 feat of winning the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup back-to-back.
Sabalenka entered the match without having dropped a set in the year's first major and maintained her perfect record to join Ash Barty, Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, and Lindsay Davenport in the elite club of players who have done so this century.
"I'm speechless right now," Sabalenka said at her press conference as she sipped a glass of wine. "I don't know how to describe my emotions. But definitely I'm super, super happy and proud of everything I was able to achieve so far."
"Yeah, just happy with the level I played today. She's a great player and very tough opponent."
Sabalenka dropped only one set in last year's tournament, and her dominance this year reflects the maturity and emotional control she has developed over the last year.
"I didn't want to be a player who won it and disappeared," Sabalenka said. "I wanted to show I'm able to be consistently there and I'm able to win another one."
"That's why no matter what the result, win or lose, we're always working hard, we're always looking for things to improve in my game."
Sabalenka's blistering form has propelled her to at least the semi-finals of the last six majors, including Wimbledon last year, despite missing the 2022 event at the All England Club due to Russian and Belarusian player bans.
The trophy, like last year, will not mention Sabalenka's nationality because she is competing without a national affiliation under the conditions imposed on Russian and Belarussian tennis players following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Sabalenka dominated the tournament, losing only 30 games, including a rematch of her title clash with U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff.
In her third Grand Slam final, Sabalenka used monster groundstrokes to take the match by the scruff of the neck with an early break of 2-0.
Thousands of Chinese fans in the stadium and millions more at home cheered Zheng on as she led 40-0 on Sabalenka's serve, only for the Belarussian to win five straight points and hold.
The charismatic 25-year-old Sabalenka has a sizable Melbourne fan base, and she rode the raucous Rod Laver Arena support to win the first set, serving out at the second attempt after Zheng saved four set points.
Zheng demonstrated her growing confidence by firing up her own big forehand to the traditional rallying cry of "Jia You" - literally "add oil" - from her compatriots in the crowd.
All that did was fuel Sabalenka, and a clean crosscourt winner earned her a break point in the first game of the second set, courtesy of Zheng's double fault.
The contest was briefly halted when a protester unfurled a Palestinian flag and shouted anti-war slogans before being forcibly removed from the stadium.
Zheng, who was attempting to emulate her idol and compatriot Li Na's 2014 Australian Open victory, saw her hopes dashed after two more serve errors put her 4-1 down.
Sabalenka stumbled a little at the line, but she eventually closed out the most one-sided final since Azarenka defeated Maria Sharapova 6-3 6-0 in 2012 with another thunderous forehand winner on her fifth championship point.
She raised her arms in triumph before running to her team and patting fitness trainer Jason Stacy's bald head, which she had been signing in marker pen as a pre-match ritual throughout the tournament.
Zheng, meanwhile, wore a disappointed expression as she reflected on what might have been.
"I wasn't playing my best tennis, I wasn't feeling that good out there," she said.
"I think I can learn more with the loss today and then I hope next time I can come back as a better tennis player and come back stronger."
SportsLigue