She broke her frustration racket. And this while a few seconds earlier, she gave a more than warm hug in the net to the one who had just beat her. Aryna Sabalenka will not join Margaret Court, Evonne Goolagong, Steffi Graf, Monica Seles and Martina Hingis on the list of champions who won three times in a row the Australian Open. This failure is all the more frustrating for the Belarusian since it did not go far from it. At 5-5, 30/30 in the last set, she even seemed in better position than Madison Keys, before the American passed overmultiplied.
“There was really frustration because I was so close to succeeding something crazy. When you are on the court and you fight but that it seems that nothing is going in the sense that you really want … I just needed to get rid of these negative emotions at the end so that they could make a speech , and not staying there standing and disrespectfulsaid Sabalenka with his disarming sincerity in front of the journalists. I was just trying to let go of the horses and be a good person. I mean that if there is one who knows that after difficult defeats come from good victories, it's me. So I will continue to work to make sure that next time, in this situation, I will play better.”
The joy of Keys vs the anger of Sabalenka: the outcome of the final on video
Video credit: Eurosport
The pressure did not bother me, there are always some in the Grand Slam final
The world number 1 has not missed its final. To tell the truth, it even evolved at a good level, especially in the second and third sets. But she really had trouble starting. In the first round, Sabalenka won only 45 % of the points behind her first ball, hitting only 4 winning shots for 13 direct faults. So what happened? Does the weight of writing the story of your sport with this famous hat-trick weighed on its shoulders?
“Before the match, I thought of that. I didn't want to get rid of these statistics. When you try to do this, it becomes more and more big in your mind. When I entered the court, I was just trying to focus on the game and what I had to do to win the match. It is a final of Grand Slam anyway, there is pressure. I wouldn't say that the pressure bother me, it was a little more tactical than that and I did not start the match in the best way“She refuted.
-Sabalenka, however, found that she had struggled to get into her match, get her legs and find good sensations. But she made it responsible for it, and rightly so, her opponent of the day. In the first set, Madison Keys served 86 % of the first balls and took advantage of each opportunity to take the initiative. Its power and aggressiveness have put the Belarusian on the heels.
How Keys still foiled the forecasts against Sabalenka: the large format of the final
Video credit: Eurosport
Faster than that of Serena, Keys' ball impressed her
“She just got into the court and she played as if she had nothing to lose. She had a lot of difficult matches and she fought. She was really aggressive, it was just not my day. If she can play constantly like that, there is not much to do. I know how to play against her, but in this match, I couldn't really put my game in place. She played at an incredible level, as if she was struck even even stronger. Its ball length was really crazy. I did my best“, he noted Sabalenka.
The speed of Keys' ball particularly impressed it. So much so that when asked if she was faster than that of Elena Rybakina or even Serena Williams, which she also faced in Melbourne, she replied in the affirmative. “Today (Saturday), yes. It was very fast, deep and aggressive. It was a great level on her part. She can be in the top 5 if she continues like that“She said.
Deprived of a fourth coronation in Grand Slam, Sabalenka is obviously left frustrated with Melbourne, even if she will be able to console herself with that she remains world number 1. “”When you are in the final, it's the trophy or nothing. No one remembers the finalist. No one puts on the trophy the name of the finalist next to that of the winner, She finally smiled. At this stage of my career, I chase the titles. But of course, I must be proud to have been a third consecutive final here“Difficult nevertheless to be content with it for such a champion. Besides, she is already more than determined to go back to reconquest next year. And to redo his kingdom from Melbourne.
