Elena Rybakina easily defeated current Australian Open winner Aryna Sabalenka 6-0, 6-3 to claim the Brisbane International championship. The fourth-ranked player from Kazakhstan only played for a total of five hours and achieved five impressive wins in Brisbane.
She put an eye-catching exclamation mark on her dominance in a one-sided final, reversing the result of last year’s tight three-set Melbourne Park decider. Rybakina benefited from a mid-match withdrawal in the quarter-final but was untroubled in the season-opening tournament, clocking just four hours and 52 minutes under the bright lights.
In just 18 minutes, the winner of the 2022 Wimbledon tournament dominated with a 5-0 lead against Sabalenka, who had been in control leading up to the final. Both players are expected to be top contenders in the upcoming Melbourne tournament, but Rybakina’s impressive performance and powerful serve have raised her chances of winning a second major title.
“Congratulations to Aryna for a fantastic week and successful season last year. I hope we have the chance to meet in Melbourne. Despite the outcome, it is always challenging to compete against you. We constantly push each other to be our best.”
The second-ranked Belarusian player, who is currently ahead in their 5-3 record against each other, could only chuckle as the match progressed. She expressed her joy at winning a point in the first game of the second set by kissing her hand and saluting the sky when she finally won a game in the second set.
“I am unsure of where to begin… That was a captivating match, well done. Thank you for making those three games seem like a battle,” Sabalenka chuckled after the match. “To my team, I have a few words: your performance today was inadequate – 6-0, 6-3, it’s all on you.”
Ignore the advertisement for the newsletter.
after newsletter promotion
“It is how it is. We showed some great tennis and hopefully we’ll do better at the Australian Open. I just wanted you (the crowd) to save your energy for the men’s final.”
