Aryna Sabalenka’s preparation for the Australian Open has received a boost after she claimed the Brisbane International title on Sunday.
The world No.1 was put through her paces by Russian qualifier Polina Kudermetova and found herself a set down before clawing her way back to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. Sabalenka has won 42 out of 45 matches against players ranked outside the top 100 since 2020 and now has 18 WTA titles to her name, 16 of which were won on hardcourts.
“I’m super happy to lift this trophy,” said Sabalenka.
“It’s a really important tournament before heading into the Australian Open. The final match was a bit tricky, (both of us) were over-hitting.
“I’m really curious about the average speed of our shots. It was a crazy match, and I’m really glad I got this win.”
Against Kudermetova, Sabalenka won 75% of her first service points and broke her opponent six times. She has now won four out of her last six tournaments played. During this period, she also won titles in Cincinnati, Wuhan and the US Open.
There also also plenty of positives for 21-year-old Kudermetova who was playing in her first WTA Final. Earlier in the tournament, she defeated 13th seed Liudmila Samsonova and third seed Daria Kasatkina. Kasatkina is the first top 10 player she had beaten on the Tour.
“That was really great tennis from her,” Sabalenka said of her Russian opponent.
“It was really aggressive. She has some variations and she was using it really well. She definitely deserved to be in the final. I’m pretty sure if she continues working the way she is, then she will be in the top 50 soon.”
The latest success for Sabalenka comes ahead of the Australian Open, where she will be bidding to become the first woman since Martina Hingis to win the title for a third successive year. In the Open Era, seven female players on the WTA Tour have won the Australian Open three or more times. Serena Williams currently holds the record with seven.
Opelka’s run ends in frustration
In the men’s final, Novak Djokovic’s conqueror Reilly Opelka was forced to quit his match against Jiri Lehecka after five games due to a back injury. Opelka, who hadn’t dropped a set en route to the final, struggled with his movement on the court in what is yet another injury setback for the American. He spent most of the last two seasons sidelined from the Tour due to a wrist injury and in 2022 had a benign tumor removed from his hip region.
“Thank you and sorry at the same time,” atptour.com quoted Opelka as saying. “It was a great week for me. I got a lot of great matches in. I have been looking forward to playing Jiri. When he had his breakthrough on Tour I was injured, so was looking forward to a great match. He is a hell of a player.
“Unfortunately, my back has been giving me issues. The tournament doctor and ATP physio were unbelievable at throwing the kitchen sink at it. We worked on it all day but it wasn’t right enough to compete.”
Lehecka, who is currently ranked 28th in the world, is the second youngest man to win Brisbane after Nick Kyrgios and the second Czech player to lift the trophy after Radek Stepanek. He is projected to rise four places on the ATP PIF rankings on Monday.
“It is never easy to finish a match this way, I know how you feel Reilly,” Lehecka said. “It has been an honor to see you back playing and if your body can take it you will be there for many more years.
“It was a great week for me in Brisbane. I just love to play here in Australia. I want to thank everyone for coming to watch and my team.”
Both of Lehecka’s ATP titles have been won on Australian territory. His first title was 12 months ago in Adelaide.
