Aryna Sabalenka will contest the 2024 Australian Open final on Saturday, and she clearly knows how to approach it.
This won't be the first rodeo for Sabalenka, not in Melbourne, not overall. This will be her third Grand Slam final and second in Australia. Her first came last year in this very place, and she won the trophy.
Elena Rybakina was a mighty opponent, but the Belarusian was able to get it done in three sets. She would play her second Grand Slam final at the US Open later that year and lose to Coco Gauff in three sets.
Fast-forward to now, and Sabalenka served the American revenge for that defeat to ensure a third Grand Slam final, her second one in Melbourne. The approach will be crucial for the match.
After her win over Gauff, she talked about trying to keep herself calm and 'not going crazy.' She thinks it will be fine because she's been there before, and that matters. The first final was pretty emotional.
"I would say emotionally I'll be, hmm, I don't know, like, very ready to fight. Not going crazy. Because when you play first final you kind of like get emotional and rushing things sometimes."
It's the right approach for Sabalenka because she'll be facing a player playing in a Grand Slam final for the first time. Qinwen Zheng is an amazing player and showed it against Dayana Yastremska in the semi-final, but there will be some nerves there.
"When you're like third time in the finals, you're, like, okay, it's a final, it's okay. It's just another match, and you're able to separate yourself from that thing. Just focus on your game."
That's one way in which Sabalenka can swing the pendulum in her favor and get her hands on a second Grand Slam trophy.
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