Australian Open—Melbourne, Australia
No. 5 seed Aryna Sabalenka won her maiden Grand Slam title on Saturday in Melbourne, Australia, defeating No. 22 seed Elena Rybakina 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
In a match that lasted two hours and two minutes, Sabalenka struck 17 aces, hit 51 winners, and broke serve on three occasions. Improving to 4-0 against Rybakina in lifetime meetings, Sabalenka will be ranked No. 2 in the world when Monday’s rankings are released.
Rybakina, who hit 31 winners to 25 unforced errors, will be ranked No. 10 in the world on Monday. The 23-year-old is the reigning Wimbledon champion.
Sunday’s action in Melbourne will feature the men’s final. No. 3 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas will take on nine-time former winner and No. 4 seed Novak Djokovic. Tsitsipas will be looking to capture his first-ever Major title, while Djokovic will be aiming to improve to a perfect 10/10 in Australian Open finals.
The Serb owns a 10-2 head-to-head lead over Tsitsipas in lifetime meetings, winning the last nine on Tour.
Sunday’s men’s champion will also become the new world No. 1 ranked player on Monday.
