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Aryna Sabalenka celebrates her victory over Zheng Qinwen in the women's Australian Open final.
CNN –
Aryna Sabalenka successfully defended her Australian Open women's title on Saturday, defeating China's Zheng Qinwen 6-3, 6-2 in the final in Melbourne, capping a dominant tournament in which she didn't lose a single set.
The Belarusian unleashed her powerful groundstrokes from the start, completely overwhelming the number 12 and pinning her well behind the baseline for the majority of the 76 minutes to match.
Such a powerful performance marked a continuation of Sabalenka's impressive tournament, where the World No. 2 comfortably swept aside all opponents on her way to the final.
And she claimed her second Grand Slam title in similar fashion, becoming the first woman to win back-to-back Australian Open titles since her compatriot Victoria Azarenka achieved the feat more frequently in 2012/13.
“It's been a great few weeks and I couldn't imagine lifting this trophy again,” said the 25-year-old on the pitch afterwards. “It's an incredible feeling right now and I'm really speechless and as always my speech will be weird. It’s not my superpower, but I’ll do my best.”
Although she failed to clear the final hurdle, it was also an impressive tournament for Zheng as she reached a Grand Slam final for the first time in her young career and secured her rise to No. 7 in the world, her debut in the top 10 from the rankings.
Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP/Getty Images
China's Zheng Qinwen makes a comeback against Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka in the women's Australian Open final.
Sabalenka got off to the best possible start to Saturday's final, fending off a hold to love in the first game and breaking Zheng in the second, while the Chinese star initially struggled to gain a foothold in the match.
The 21-year-old had three opportunities to immediately recover, setting up an early twist in the tale, but Sabalenka defended them all and ran through the first set from then on, scoring three set points with Zheng's serve.
Although Zheng delivered under pressure, defending all three and forcing another game, she couldn't halt the trend for much longer and Sabalenka closed out the first set in just 33 minutes.
Leading first in the second set, Zheng had a chance to recalibrate, but three double faults in that first game ended any attempt to build momentum and gave Sabalenka an early break.
That break, coupled with Sabalenka's strong serve – she only lost six points on her first serve in the entire match – cemented the Belarusian's lead in the final and by the time she served for the tournament, she never seemed troubled again.
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Aryna Sabalenka will face Zheng Qinwen in the final.
Zheng's serve failed again with two more double faults in the same game, allowing Sabalenka to make a double break, and although she fought until the end and secured four championship points, the defending Australian Open champion sealed the tournament on her fifth attempt.
And by securing victory with such a dominant performance, she became the first woman since Serena Williams in 2007 to win the Australian Open final without losing a single service game.
This story has been updated with additional information.