Aryna Sabalenka successfully defended her Australian Open women’s singles title after beating China’s Qinwen Zheng 6-3, 6-2 on Saturday in the final at the Rod Laver Arena. It took the Belarusian only an hour and 16 minutes to ease past her Chinese opponent.In the first set, Sabalenka earned an early break to put Zheng under pressure. At 40-0 in the third game, Zheng had a golden chance to earn the break back. Not only did Sabalenka save the break points, but won five points in a row to hold her serve.
14 sets played, 14 sets won, the reigning champion retains her
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 27, 2024
Queen Aryna's second coronation caps a perfect fortnight at Melbourne Park.@SabalenkaA • @wwos • @espn • @eurosport • @wowowtennis pic.twitter.com/x7639RQr84
In the second set, Sabalenka earned an early break to take a 1-0 lead.At 2-5 in the second set, Sabalenka got 3 championship points, but Zheng saved all of them to take the game into deuce.
For Zheng, it was a historic moment, as she had become the first Chinese player in 10 years since Li Na to take part in a Grand Slam singles final. The 21-year-old will also make her debut in the top 10 when the new rankings come out.
1974 2024#AusOpen #AO2024 pic.twitter.com/YmPSrh7bSc
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 27, 2024
Last year, Sabalenka had to fight hard against Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina when she had to rally back after losing the first set. But against Zheng, Sabalenka was on top of her game and hardly gave her opponent any breathing space.
Newsinc24 Team
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