Aryna Sabalenka successfully defended her Australian Open title, securing victory for the second consecutive year. The Belarusian tennis player triumphed over China's Qinwen Zheng in the final, claiming a 6-3, 6-2 win. Throughout the tournament, Sabalenka, ranked number 2 in the world, displayed dominance by not dropping a single set in seven matches.
In the final match, Sabalenka quickly established a 2-0 lead by breaking Zheng's serve. Despite three consecutive opportunities for Zheng to break back, Sabalenka fended off the challenges and extended her lead to 3-0. Continuing her strong performance, Sabalenka maintained control on her own serve, ultimately closing out the first set with a 6-3 score. The second set followed a similar pattern, with Sabalenka securing a 2-0 lead by breaking her opponent's serve. She further solidified her advantage by breaking again, reaching a 4-1 lead, and eventually closing out the match on her serve after an hour and 16 minutes of play. Despite needing five match points, Sabalenka secured the victory.
Sabalenka's statistics were impressive, with only 15 points lost on her serve and no breaks allowed in the entire match. She concluded the game with 14 winners against 14 unforced errors, while Zheng's balance was 19/16.
By winning the Australian Open consecutively, Sabalenka became the first female tennis player to achieve this feat since her compatriot Victoria Azarenka in 2012 and 2013. In her journey to the title, the 25-year-old Sabalenka defeated various opponents, including Ella Seidel, Brenda Frukhvirtova, Lesya Tsurenko, Amanda Anisimova, Barbora Krejcikova, and US Open trophy winner Coco Goff before facing Zheng.
On the other hand, 21-year-old Zheng became only the second Chinese woman to reach a Grand Slam singles final since Na Li, who secured victories in the Australian Open and Roland Garros during her career.
The winner of the final is set to receive a prize of more than 2,110,000 US dollars, while the runner-up will take home just over 1,150,000. /BGNES
