Australian Open: Aryna Sabalenka defends women’s title, defeating Zheng Qinwen in dominant fashion | Top Vip News

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Aryna Sabalenka he successfully defended her australian open women’s title on Saturday, dismantling China’s Zheng Qinwen 6-3, 6-2 in the Melbourne final and completing a dominant tournament in which she did not lose a single set.

The Belarusian unleashed her supply of powerful groundstrokes from the start, completely dominating the 12th seed and pinning her well behind the baseline for most of the 76-minute duration. match.

Such a powerful display marked a continuation of Sabalenka’s impressive tournament in which the world No. 2 swept all her opponents on her way to the final in comfortable fashion.

And she claimed her second Grand Slam title in similar fashion, becoming the first woman to win back-to-back Australian Open titles since compatriot Victoria Azarenka achieved the feat in 2012-13.

“It’s been an incredible couple of weeks and I couldn’t imagine lifting this trophy one more time,” the 25-year-old said on court afterwards. “It’s an incredible feeling right now and I’m really speechless and as always my speech is going to be strange. It’s not my superpower, but I’ll do my best.”

Despite falling short of the final hurdle, it also marked an impressive tournament for Zheng as she reached a Grand Slam final for the first time in her fledgling career and ensured a promotion to World No. 7, her top 10 debut. of the classifications.

Sabalenka enjoyed the best possible start in Saturday’s final, making a love serve in the first game and breaking Zheng in the second as the Chinese star initially struggled to find a foothold in the match.

The 21-year-old had three chances to counterattack immediately, offering an early twist in the narrative, but Sabalenka defended them all and won the first set from there, earning three set points on Zheng’s serve.

Although Zheng delivered under pressure, defending all three and forcing another game, she couldn’t hold back the tide for much longer and Sabalenka took the first set in just 33 minutes.

Serving first in the second set, Zheng had a chance to recalibrate, but three double faults in that first game hampered any attempt to build momentum and gave Sabalenka an early break.

That break, along with Sabalenka’s powerful serve (she lost just six points on her first serve throughout the match), cemented the Belarusian’s control in the final and, until she served for the tournament, she never seemed worried again.

Zheng’s serve was broken once again with two more double faults in the same game, allowing Sabalenka to make a double break and although she fought until the end, saving four championship points, the defending Australian Open champion sealed the tournament on his fifth attempt.

And in sealing victory with such a dominant display, she became the first woman since Serena Williams in 2007 to win the Australian Open final without losing a single service game.

This story has been updated with additional information.