Aryna Sabalenka has won her maiden Grand Slam singles title after coming from a set down to beat Elena Rybakina in the Australian Open final.
The Belarusian fifth seed showed much power to defeat her Khazakhstani opponent 4-6 6-3 6-4.
Rybakina, a former Grand Slam champion, could not add a second major title to her cabinet in the interesting affair.
24-year-old Sabalenka could not turn her first three championship points but proved strong enough to save a break point with a huge unreturned first serve.
It was all joy for the Belarusian after successfully edging the third set which confirmed her status as the winner of this year’s Australian Open women singles title.
Filled with much emotion, her coach Anton Dubrov sobbed as she celebrated with him and other members of the team in the stands.
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Sabalenka’s strength paid off
A Melbourne newspaper had tagged the clash between these two as the ‘power struggle of epic stature’ and the match didn’t disappoint as it delivered accordingly.
The Belarusian was forced to stay at home as last year’s Wimbledon went down due to the ban placed on Belarusian and Russian players.
She confessed she could not face watching the tournament as she knew she could have been a participant.
In order to cast her mind off the tournament, Sabalenka claimed she had to go to more gym sessions as she confirms that the major reason for her victory in the Australian Open tournament was due to her mind as much as her physical exertion.
While speaking to Channel Nine after the match, she said: “I need a few days to realise what happened. I’m speechless.”
“It was super emotional at the end and I was super happy I was able to handle all the emotions in the last game. It was super tough,” she added.
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