Super Sabalenka: Star Belarusian’s sheer relief after back-to-back Australian Open titles

“Every player would like to win all of them.

“[But] Australia will be my special place. It will be in my memory my entire life.”

Later, in elaborating on her quest for success on another surface, Sabalenka said: “If we’re going to keep building what we are building right now, I’m definitely able to do the same on the clay and on the grass.”

Australian tennis legend Evonne Goolagong Cawley presented Sabalenka with the trophy – a moment that brought an immediate smile to the back-to-back champion’s face.

“It’s been an amazing couple of weeks,” said Sabalenka.

“I couldn’t imagine myself lifting this trophy one more time.”

She admitted she sharpened her focus on her title defence earlier this month when she played the Brisbane International, a campaign marked by a brutal finals loss to Elena Rybakina, the player she fought tooth and nail with in last year’s three-set Australian Open decider.

“I put my pressure on them [my team] after [the] Brisbane final,” Sabalenka said referring to her support team sitting in the stands.

“Thanks so much for being by my side. Thanks so much for everything you [are] doing for me.”

In a lighter moment, however, she added: “Without me you wouldn’t be that good as well. Let’s accept that fact.”

With the major title, Sabalenka, 25, has put down an eye-catching marker to be the dominant player in women’s tennis this year – her Melbourne Park defence coming just months after she reached the decider in the calendar’s other hardcourt grand slam, in New York.

Sabalenka didn’t drop a set en route to Saturday night’s final at a jam-packed Rod Laver Arena – her semi-final showdown against the player she lost to in New York, Coco Gauff, proving to be her most difficult match.

Even then, Gauff was only able to push their opening set to a tie-breaker before Sabalenka put her foot down and stormed to victory.

Sabalenka had a word of comfort for Zheng, the young Chinese player who was carrying the burden of expectation and was hoping to repeat history by joining countrywoman Li Na as a grand slam title winner. Na’s memorable Australian Open win, the only major win by a Chinese player, was in 2014.

“I want to congratulate Zheng on an incredible couple of weeks,” said Sabalenka. “You’re going to win many more finals. You’re going to get it.”

In a range of post-match interviews, Sabalenka alluded to the pressure she felt and eventually overcame Down Under, as well as the immense relief she was feeling.

“I’ve been under a bit of pressure these past two weeks,” she said. “It’s tough to explain how incredible this is.”

Sabalenka joins a cavalcade of greats to have defended their Australian Open titles – the likes of Serena Williams, Jennifer Capriati, Martina Hingis, Monica Seles and Steffi Graf doing so since the tournament moved to Melbourne Park from Kooyong in 1988.

World No.1 Iga Swiatek holds a sizeable lead on the rankings but Sabalenka, thanks to semi-final finishes or better at each of the slams last year, would feel confident that she’s in an even stronger position to get back to the top ranking, a spot she briefly held in September.

Sabalenka was on her game from the outset on Saturday night, only needing an early service break in the first set 6-3 in 36 minutes to move her to a position of dominance.

The pattern appeared to be eerily similar in the second set. Not even a brief crowd disturbance by some pro-Palestinian supporters in the stands was able to disrupt Sabalenka’s concentration.

At that point, all and sundry were impressed by Sabalenka’s ruthlessness and power as she charged towards the title.

“[This is] the best I’ve ever seen her play,” said former Wimbledon semi-finalist Jelena Dokic on the Channel Nine broadcast.

Sabalenka scored a second break of serve in the fifth game to move to a 4-1 lead. At that point, she effectively already had her hands on the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup.

Later, Sabalenka explained that her ability to break her opponents was reflective of how she’s improved as a player in the space of 12 months.

“I feel that I’m definitely a different person and a player,” she said.

“I think my aggressive game and putting her [Zheng] under pressure on her serve, that was the key.

“On her serve I make her play a bit more than usual.”

Sabalenka entered the opening major of 2024 brimming with confidence and, despite some ruthless early rounds wins, seemed to get better as the tournament progressed. It was a comprehensive tournament performance, similar to Ash Barty’s barnstorming run to the title two years ago.

Barty, like Sabalenka, didn’t drop a set. The Australian’s most difficult match came in the final against Danielle Collins, when she needed to fire in a tiebreaker.

The previous women’s player to go back-to-back at the Australian Open was Victoria Azarenka in 2012 and 2013. Before that, Serena Williams had managed the feat in 2009 and 2010.

Williams, also the champion in 2015, couldn’t defend her title the following year, losing to German Angelique Kerber.

Graf won the first three Australian Opens at Melbourne Park more than 30 years ago, immediately followed by a Seles trifecta. A few years later Hingis won three in a row in the mid-1990s.

Sabalenka’s next challenge could quite well be to match those feats.

Watch all the Australian Open action live on Nine, 9Gem, 9Now and ad-free on Stan Sport.

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