‘Need few more days to realise what happened’
An emotional Aryna Sabalenka said it will take a "few more days" to sink in after battling back from a set down to win a maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open on Saturday.
The hard-hitting Belarusian collapsed to the court in tears after winning 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 against Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in a high-quality 2hr 28min arm-wrestle on Rod Laver Arena.
The 24-year-old Sabalenka wiped away tears before getting a warm hug from Moscow-born Rybakina, who played a full part in a thrilling match between two of the most powerful hitters in the women's game.
Sabalenka, the fifth seed and form player in 2023, then ran to her player's box to celebrate with her team.
"Thank you, my team, the craziest team on the tour. We've been through a lot of, I would say, downs last year," Sabalenka said after receiving the trophy. "Thank you so much for what you are doing for me. I love you guys."
Turning to 22nd seed Rybakina, she added: "You're such a great player and of course we are going to have many more battles, hopefully in finals of Grand Slams."
Sabalenka will now rise to second in the world rankings behind Poland's Iga Swiatek, equalling her career high, having triumphed in her first Grand Slam final.
"I need a few more days to realise what just happened," Sabalenka told Australia's Channel Nine. "Oh my god, I'm speechless. I was super emotional at the end."
The final -- a fitting ending to two weeks of drama and shocks at Melbourne Park -- was a match of brutal groundstrokes, precision serving and wonderful rallies from two players at the top of their game.
Rybakina cruised through the first set in 34 minutes but Sabalenka scrapped her way back in a 57-minute second set to take it to a nervy decider.
It was then a case of which of the big servers would blink first in a toe-to-toe battle.
At 3-3 Rybakina -- who represents Kazakhstan -- could not find enough first serves and though she saved two break points, a third was too much, and Sabalenka had the finish line in sight.
Another ace took her to 5-3 but the 23-year-old Rybakina held to force Sabalenka to test her nerves and serve for the championship. She was up to the challenge, but needed four nerve-shredding match points after a display where she hit 51 winners and 17 aces.
"I just kept telling myself that nobody said this is going to be easy. She's going to fight, this is the final, just work for it," Sabalenka said afterwards, describing how she got through those four match points. "Take a deep breath and just work," added Sabalenka, who had reached three Grand Slam semifinals before this year but never gone farther.