Australian Open Ladies | Aryna Sabalenka titled in the final against Elena Rybakina, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4

This time it was his time. Aryna Sabalenka became a Grand Slam champion in Melbourne on Saturday. And the least we can say is that she didn’t steal it. By dint of will and determination, the Belarusian went to seek her destiny with style, overthrowing Elena Rybakina (4-6, 6-3, 6-4) in the final of the Australian Open, after 2h28 of a hell of a fight on the Rod Laver Arena. This first Major in the purse, she will become next Monday the runner-up to Iga Swiatek in the world ranking.

It took her four match points, but she got there. Aryna Sabalenka conquered her demons and the tears quickly came, shared by her coach in the stands. After a few years of frustration, the Belarusian has therefore realized her dream, the one that had long paralyzed her on the big occasions: to win a Grand Slam title. And she had all the more merit in that she came up against an Elena Rybakina who was true to herself and very solid, at least at the start of this very well-crafted final.

Iron will and devastating power

Everything had therefore started badly. Quickly broken, Sabalenka had caught up before giving in again at 4-4 in the first set… on a double fault. Rather well in her match, so she still seemed a little too crumbly in the hottest moments. Unmoved on the other side of the net, very precise on his first ball, Rybakina had better control of his emotions, as you would expect from Wimbledon playing experience.

So when Sabalenka found herself 15/40 from the start of the second set on her serve, we thought that this final could be cut short. But the Belarusian has not given up, quite the contrary. After saving her service game, she continued to commit 100% in every shot and took advantage of a drop in her rival’s first percentage to steal the opposing engagement (4-6, 3-1) . So the dynamic changed.

51 winning moves

More lucid in her choices, the seeded 5 oriented the game on the forehand of a suddenly more friable Rybakina. And she logically reset the counters after a second set that she could have won more broadly (4-6, 6-3). With the wind in its sails, Sabalenka continued to press the accelerator, even though Rybakina managed to find her first ball when the situation demanded it. Impressive in power, she completely took over in the exchange and the winning shots rained down on the Rod Laver Arena (51 against 31 to her opponent).

His audacity and his undermining work ended up paying off at 3-3, with a fateful break. Admittedly, the tension seized her again when serving for the match, but faced with a break point at 5-4, she released the heavy artillery in the service. Yes, Sabalenka had a champion’s head on Saturday. And this triumph could well lead to others.