Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka are facing off in the 2023 Australian Open women's final, and we bring you all the updates, live!
It was a final to remember for both players. Rybakina, who is the reigning Wimbledon champion, but didn't receive the points for her triumph, seeded 22nd, while Sabalenka the fifth seed showed why they are currently two of the best players in the world.
Early in the match, the Kazakhstani player had the upper hand, and it was mostly thanks to her serve. Rybakina was able to hit five aces in the opening set and keep high percentage on both her first and second serve.
Thanks to that, she was able to win the opening set 6-4, but Sabalenka came to play. The Belarusian was able to increase the intensity, and improve on both serve and return.
In the second set, Sabalenka saved all three break points that she faced, while hitting seven aces along the way. While she converted only one out of seven break points that she had, it was enough to win the second set 6-3, and take the match into a dramatic decider.
Rybakina seemingly wasn't able to find the same level in the third set as she did early in the match. It was mostly her serve that wasn't as impressive, and her opponent quickly found some openings.
Thanks to that, the Belarusian created a few chances to break, and it was in the seventh game of the third set that she hit the last nail into her opponent's coffin, as she broke her serve and never gave the break back.
After two hours and 28 minutes of play, Sabalenka won the match 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to win her maiden Grand Slam title at the 2023 Australian Open. If you want to know how the match unfolded, feel free to visit out liveblog below.
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