"At the end of yet another semi-final in Melbourne on Thursday night, Aryna Sabalenka slammed the door shut on Elina Svitolina with a searing forehand winner, her 29th of the night. It was another near flawless performance from the Belarusian, another match she dominated from start to finish without any response, reinforcing her status as the leading hard court player of her generation."
"She is yet to drop a set and has shown how much her game has evolved by also dominating the net and peppering opponents with an array of drop shots. The few times she has been pushed, such as in her third round match against Anastasia Potapova, the world No 1 has produced her best tennis in the decisive moments and been in control of the baseline throughout."
"While their career achievements reflect the fact that Sabalenka is more rounded, a better mover and returner with greater variation and consistency, Rybakina is one of the only players capable of tearing the racket from Sabalenka's hands. This was the case just three months ago at the end-of-season finals in Riyadh, where Rybakina closed out a spectacular 6-3, 7-6 (0) win over Sabalenka to clinch the second biggest title of her career behind her Wimbledon crown."
Aryna Sabalenka has dominated her Australian Open run, winning six matches without dropping a set and delivering powerful forehands, including 29 winners in a semi-final. Her game has evolved to include aggressive net approaches and a variety of drop shots, while maintaining strong baseline control and clutch performance in decisive moments. Sabalenka faces Elena Rybakina in the final, a rival who combines big-hitting offense with the ability to seize momentum and unsettle opponents. Rybakina recently beat Sabalenka in the end-of-season finals in Riyadh, winning 6-3, 7-6 (0), and has climbed into elite contention after earlier inconsistency.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]