After such a bittersweet season filled with near-misses and heartbreak at the final hurdle, Aryna Sabalenka returned to the US Open final with one final chance to win the grand slam title she felt she was owed.
Such an occasion could have been the source of more anxiety and stress, another reason for her to fall apart, but Sabalenka’s increasingly legendary career has been driven by her ability to learn from her losses, no matter how painful they are. This time, the No 1’s nerves perfectly held up under pressure as she maintained her composure during a late surge from Amanda Anisimova before closing her US Open title defence with a 6-3, 7-6 (3) win.
As the best player in the world at the peak of her powers, Sabalenka continues to establish herself as one of the greatest players of the 21st century. She has now won four grand slam titles, drawing level with Kim Clijsters, Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, Naomi Osaka and Hana Mandlikova. Sabalenka has established an era of dominance on hard courts, earning her four major titles with an equal share of victories at the Australian and US Open. She has now also reached six consecutive grand slam finals on hard courts.
From the beginning, both players made it clear that in a match between two of the most lethal shotmakers in the sport, this was a gunfight. Nothing but the most fearless and clear-headed attacking tennis would be sufficient. After failing to convert a break point and trailing 2-0, Anisimova finally won her first game in a grand slam final with style, ending an extended point of brutal hitting with a laser-like forehand winner to retrieve the break.
Aryna Sabalenka drops her racket in delight after winning the final. Photograph: Elsa/Getty Images
Having finally settled some of her nerves, Anisimova spent the subsequent two games pummelling Sabalenka’s second serve and effortlessly pounding down-the-line winners off both wings. But she could not consistently find her range and her unforced error count continued to rise. Sabalenka gradually began to take advantage of Anisimova’s mediocre serving, pulverising the American’s second serve throughout the set. She emerged with four consecutive games and a one-set lead.
As Anisimova struggled to find the court with her high-risk, low-margin shotmaking, Sabalenka also separated herself from her challenger with her superior movement, shot tolerance and guile. Although Anisimova conjured up a brief moment of inspiration, her ground strokes momentarily catching fire as she retrieved the early second set break and levelled the set at 3-3, Sabalenka quickly regained control.
At the very last opportunity, Anisimova finally found some fresh inspiration. With Sabalenka two points from victory on her serve at 6-3, 5-4, the Belarusian showed her nerves at 30-30 by completely misjudging a straightforward smash, slamming it into the net. Presented with one last opportunity, the American snatched it immediately, pounding a forehand down-the-line winner to take the break.
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Amanda Anisimova congratulates the US Open champion Aryna Sabalenka. Photograph: Yuki Iwamura/AP
Suddenly, the match had taken on a new complexion as Anisimova’s blows began to land. She powered to 6-5 lead, bossing most points from inside the baseline. For Sabalenka, this could have been the moment she began to fall apart, her painful memories from this season rushing back. Instead, she took a deep breath, kept her cool and closed out another for her fourth grand slam title with a faultless tie-break.
Of all the tight losses and missed opportunities Sabalenka has endured this year, no defeat was as painful as her three-set loss to Coco Gauff at the French Open final in June. Sabalenka had entered the final convinced she was mentally and physically ready for any challenge that came her way. Instead, she mentally crumbled on the court and then lashed out afterwards in the press room, inviting shame as well as disappointment.
On another massive occasion against an American opponent, the New York crowd desperately cheering for her downfall, Sabalenka put herself back together under one of the most challenging circumstances possible, pulling off a victory that may well guide her to even greater successes in the future.
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