Aryna Sabalenka has become the fifth woman to win back-to-back titles at Indian Wells and Miami in the same year after beating a gutsy Coco Gauff in three sets at the Hard Rock Stadium.
The world No.1 produced a roller-coaster 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 triumph to win Miami for the second year in a row. It was far from a straightforward task for Sabalenka, who is currently on a 12-match winning streak with a win-loss record of 5-1 against top 10 players this year. This year’s Miami Open is the 11th WTA 1000 event she has won in her career, which is the joint-second highest in the series’ history. Only Serena Williams has won more.
“I haven’t had a moment to stop and really look back and realise what just happened in the last month,” Sabalenka told Sky Sports.
“I’m so proud of the work that we’ve (Sabalenka and her team) done, the fight that I was able to bring on court and the level and everything.”
Sabalenka, who is currently spending her 83rd week at the top of the WTA standings, got off to a blistering start against home favourite Gauff. In the opening game, she used her powerful ball striking to break for an early lead. For the remainder of the set, the top seed continued to pile pressure on Gauff, who admirably displayed plenty of fighting spirit. Midway through the opening set, the American saved a trio of break points to avoid falling behind 1-4.
However, Sabalenka continued to pounce and eventually secured a double break two games later by hitting an angled backhand winner. Then it was another backhand winner that secured her the 6-2 lead.
At the tournament where she made her WTA debut in 2019, Gauff bounced back during a tense second frame. After missing out on a 2-0 lead by netting a shot, the world No.4 then had to save break points across two of her service games just to stay level. Then out of nowhere, Gauff staged a late surge by winning eight out of 10 points played to force the match in a decider. A frustrating blow for Sabalenka, who hit two unforced errors when serving at 4-5, 30-30.
The world No.1 got back on track at the start of the third set by breaking Gauff once again. Back in the lead, Sabalenka stayed strong by winning 17 out of the next 21 points played behind her serve en route to a 5-3 lead. On the verge of victory, a scrappy rally between the two concluded with her hitting a forehand winner to move to championship point, which Sabalenka converted with an error from across the court.
“I know she’s a fighter, I know that she’s gonna fight for every opportunity. She played incredibly,” Sabalenka said in tribute to Gauff.
“I made a couple of short errors in the last game (of the second set), gave her a set, but I was really mentally strong in my head.
“I knew that I was doing everything right, it was just a matter of a few points and I just kept telling myself to just focus, try to do better next time and that was the mentality going into the third set.”
The showdown was a sellout with 16,830 fans gathering to watch the match. At times, there were interruptions and calls from some in the crowd, which prompted a bemused Sabalenka to swear and then receive a warning from the umpire for doing so. Her outburst was triggered by somebody wrongly calling a shot out during a rally.
“I got a little frustrated at that one moment,” she admits.
“But I had a lot of support here as well, I feel like a local here and I knew what to expect going into this match and I really enjoyed it.
“Even though they were cheering for her (Gauff), I felt like they were cheering for great tennis.”
Sabalenka’s Sunshine Double milestone has only been matched on the WTA Tour by Steffi Graf (1994, 1996), Kim Clijsters (2005), Victoria Azarenka (2016) and Iga Swiatek (2022).
