The attackers with strong serve ended with the victory of Arina Savalenka (24, Belarus, 5th in the world rankings).
Sabalenka lost 2-1 (4-6 6-3) to Elena Rivakina (23, Kazakhstan, world number 25) in the women’s singles final of the 2023 Australian Open tennis tournament held at Melbourne Park Road Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia on the 28th. 6-4) We had a come-from-behind victory.
This gave Sabalenka her first top tier singles title at both her Australian Open and her Grand Slam event. Prior to this tournament, he reached the semifinals at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2021. Last year at the US Open she once again reached the semifinals, but failed to advance to the final.
After finishing runner-up in the Women’s Professional Tennis (WTA) Finals last year, the ‘Wang-jung-King’, she rose to the top in the first round of the Adelaide International, the opening match of this year.
The only player in the tournament to enter the top 10 in the world rankings, he defeated Rivakina, the winner of Wimbledon last year, to lift her championship trophy.
In particular, Sabalenka continued her winless streak from the first round of the Adelaide International, the opening match of this year’s WTA tour, to the semifinals of the Australian Open. Sabalenka, who gave up the first set in the final, stopped the streak, but took the remaining second and third sets and won a thrilling come-from-behind victory. 안전놀이터
Riva Kina, who won Wimbledon last year, also reached the final at the Australian Open to challenge for her second Grand Slam title. However, she had to be satisfied with the runner-up, being pushed back by Sabalenka’s strong serve and counterattack.
Prior to this game, Rivakina had lost three matches against Sabalenka. Rivakina, who faced ‘nemesis’ Savalenka for her first Australian Open win, failed to avenge her.
In the first set, 1-1, Rivakina broke first and succeeded in overcoming the baseline. However, she caught up 3-4 and Savalenka responded with a break to tie the game at 4-4. In this situation, Livakina, with a strong serve followed by a volley, took two games and won the first set.
Savalenka, who started a counterattack, brought the opponent’s serve game in the second set 2-1. He also defended the subsequent serve game and widened the score to 4-1. Rivakina chased to 3-5, but could not close the score gap. Savalenka took the second set 6-3 and turned the game around.
In the final 3 set 3-3, Sabalenka succeeded in breaking a step closer to winning. Blocking Rivakina’s attack with a solid return, he defended the eighth game and led 5-3.
Savalenka, who had the chance to win, played a close game in the 10th game, exchanging deuces. After 4 deuces, Savalenka, who overcame Rivakina’s tenacious pursuit, confirmed the championship and collapsed on the court, shedding tears of emotion.
Sabalenka put in a whopping 17 serve aces, overwhelming Rivakina who recorded 9. His first serve success rate was 65%, and he had a 51-31 lead in the winner fight.
Meanwhile, Sabalenka, who won the Australian Open, jumps to second place in the world rankings to be announced next week. Rivakina is expected to rise to the top 10.