When Sabalenka won in Melbourne last year, the key factors behind her success were remodelling her serve to avoid the double faults which had plagued her and working with a psychologist.
Her development over the rest of the 2023 season led to a a first stint as the world number one and becoming the most consistent women’s player at the Grand Slams.
Sabalenka went on to reach at least the semi-finals at the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open, but her attempts to win more majors were ruined by moments of uncertainty.
“There are not going to be big wins without really tough losses. You have to trust the process and believe that next time you’ll do better,” she said.
Returning to Melbourne, the experience of already having won there appeared to add an extra layer of belief in a series of composed performances.
Sabalenka dropped just 16 games on her way to the semi-finals – where she then exacted revenge on Gauff in straight sets – before turning her attention to Zheng.
Executing her aggressive approach to near perfection paid dividends.
Sabalenka broke at the first opportunity with a backhand which rocked Zheng, saw off three break points in the next game and continued to force errors from her opponent as she moved towards a clinical victory.
The rare moment of uncertainty in a dominant performance by Sabalenka came when she was trying to close out victory and needed to save a rare break point before taking a fifth championship point.
She took this with a clean forehand crosscourt winner, turning to her team with both arms lifted towards the sky before blowing a kiss.
2024-01-27 12:06:26
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