Aryna Sabalenka successfully defends women’s Australian Open title, defeating Zheng Qinwen in dominant fashion
Aryna Sabalenka celebrates her victory over Zheng Qinwen during the women’s Australian Open final. David Gray/AFP/Getty Images CNN —
Aryna Sabalenka successfully defended her Australian Open women’s title on Saturday, dismantling China’s Zheng Qinwen 6-3 6-2 in the final in Melbourne and completing a dominant tournament in which she did not drop a single set.
The Belarusian unleashed her supply of powerful groundstrokes from the very start, completely overpowering the No. 12 seed and pinning her far behind the baseline for the majority of the 76-minute long match.
Such a powerful display marked a continuation of Sabalenka’s impressive tournament in which the world No. 2 swept aside every opponent on her route to the final in comfortable fashion.
And she clinched her second grand slam title in similar fashion, becoming the first woman to win two consecutive Australian Open titles since her compatriot Victoria Azarenka achieved the feat more in 2012-13.
This is a developing story and will be updated.