Walking into her press conference, it was evident how disappointed Aryna Sabalenka was with coming up short in the Australian Open final.
Seeking her third title in four years at Melbourne Park, the world No.1 was outplayed by Elena Rybakina in a three-set roller-coaster. Sabalenka was under pressure from the onset after losing her serve in the first game and waited almost 90 minutes before securing her first break of the match. Then, in the decider, she looked to be on the verge of glory when leading 3-0 before going on to lose six out of the next seven games played.
“She played an incredible match, and I tried my very best. I was fighting until the very last point,” Sabalenka said during her press conference.
“I had my opportunities. It feels like I missed a couple, but it’s tennis.
“Today you’re the loser; tomorrow you’re the winner. Hopefully I’ll be more of a winner this season than a loser.”
Whilst she has established herself as one of the most formidable forces on the Tour, Sabalenka has experienced mixed fortunes in finals since the start of last year. Out of 10 played, she had lost five of those. Looking at Grand Slams specifically during this period, her record is 1 win against three losses.
Statistically, it doesn’t paint a very positive picture for Sabalenka, who did win the US Open last September. However, there is a silver lining for the Belarusian.
“Overall, it was much better than last year, the two (Grand Slam) finals I lost,” she said. “Level-wise, the decisions that I was making and the way my mentality was throughout the whole match that I was still there, I was ready to fight, I knew that she’s not going to give it easily to me.
“I made a huge improvement on that, and I still lost. But it’s okay. I feel like I’m moving towards the right direction.”
Sabalenka’s record against Rybakina is deceiving. Whilst she led the Kazakh 8-7 in their head-to-head, it is the fourth time in a row she has been beaten by her. Coinciding with this, Rybakina currently holds the record for most wins achieved on the WTA Tour since Wimbledon last year. She hasd won 20 out of her last 21 matches played.
This resurgence by the 2022 Wimbledon winner is something that hasn’t gone unnoticed by Sabalenka.
“She just plays more aggressively. She was able to build great confidence starting from the (WTA) Finals. Definitely a better player. As a result, she got a slam, which is an incredible achievement,” she commented.
The 27-year-old is currently 11-1 since the start of this season. She will now take a brief break before switching focus to the Middle East swing.
“I was just really upset with myself (after the final), but I think overall I played great tennis in Australia. Even in this final, I feel like I played great. I was fighting. I did my best and she was a better player.” Sabalenka concluded.
