Sabalenka wins first Slam title at Aussie Open
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
One point away from her first Grand Slam title, Aryna Sabalenka faulted. And then she faulted again. She grimaced. She yelled and turned her back to the court. She wiggled her shoulders and exhaled.
Clearly, this business of winning the Australian Open was not bound to happen without a bit of a struggle Saturday night. Sabalenka knew deep inside that would be the case. She also knew that all of the effort she put in, to overcome self-doubt and those dreaded doublefaults, had to pay off eventually. Just had to.
And so, as she wasted a second match point by flubbing a forehand, and a third by again missing another, Sabalenka did her best to stay calm, something she used to find quite difficult. She hung in there until a fourth chance to close out Elena Rybakina presented itself — and this time, Sabalenka saw a forehand from her similarly powerful foe sail long. That was that. The championship belonged to Sabalenka via a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 comeback victory over Wimbledon winner Rybakina.
“The last game, yeah, of course, I was a little bit nervous. I [kept] telling myself, like, ‘Nobody tells you that it’s going to be easy.’ You just have to work for it, work for it, ’til the last point,” said Sabalenka, a 24-year-old from Belarus who is now 11-0 with two titles in 2023 and will rise to No. 2 in the WTA rankings on Monday.
“I’m super happy that I was able to handle all those emotions,” she said, “and win this one.”
The only set she has dropped all season was the opener on Saturday against Rybakina, who eliminated No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the fourth round.
It was telling that Sabalenka’s remarks during the post-match ceremony were directed at her coach, Anton Dubrov, and her fitness trainer, Jason Stacy — she referred to them as “the craziest team on tour.”
“We’ve been through a lot of, I would say, downs last year,” said Sabalenka, who was appearing in her first major final and had been 0-3 in Slam semifinals until this week. “We worked so hard and you guys deserve this trophy. It’s more about you than it’s about me.”
Well, she had a lot to do with it, of course. Those serves that produced 17 aces, helping erase the sting of seven doublefaults. Those hammered groundstrokes and relentlessly aggressive style that produced 51 winners, 20 more than Rybakina’s total.
And, despite her go-forbroke shotmaking, somehow
By comparison, Lowry was at 21.4 usage rate his final year in Toronto and 18.2 with the Heat last season.
So it’s not a shock that his assists are down from 7.5 last season (10th in the league) to 5.4 this season (29th).
Coach Erik Spoelstra is “trying to get me with the ball a little bit more with the first unit,” Lowry said. “We have to work that stuff through. Bam is having an All NBA year. Tyler, Jimmy are having an All Star year. For me, it’s how do I affect the game without having the ball. Spo wants me to have the ball a little bit more, but there’s always a time and a place for everything.”
Lowry’s 12.4 scoring average would be his lowest since 2012-13, but he’s also taking his fewest shots per game since that season. He’s averaging 9.9 field goal attempts per game — down slightly from last year — after averaging 13.8 and 13.0 in his final two years in Toronto.
He hasn’t played in the fourth quarter of seven games, including this past week’s wins against Boston and Orlando, when Spoelstra kept Vincent on the floor instead.
Is Lowry OK with that? “I would love to always finish the game, but whatever Sabalenka limited her unforced error count to
28. One more key statistic: Sabalenka managed to accrue 13 break points, converting three, including the one at 4-3 in the last set that put her ahead for good.
“She played really well today,” said Rybakina, who has lost all four matches she’s played against Sabalenka, all in three sets. “She was strong mentally, physically.”
While the latter has long been a hallmark of her game, even Sabalenka acknowledges that the first has been an issue.
Her most glowing is best for the team and helps us win is all that matters,” he said.
Asked about Lowry not playing in the fourth, Spoelstra said Friday: “The [Boston] game, the second unit really took over, and they deserved to play that out. I wouldn’t look into it more than that. Sometimes there’s recency bias, right? He had all the big plays against New Orleans down the stretch” last Sunday when he scored nine late points in a row in a Heat win.
“I have as much respect for Kyle and his pedigree in those moments over the course of his career. He’s one of the biggest clutch players in this game.”
He still does a very good job drawing charges; he was third in the league in charges drawn last season and has a team-high 11 this season.
Lowry’s name has come up in trade talks before the Feb. 9 deadline, and a deal cannot be ruled out because Miami faces a serious luxury tax crunch next season if payroll isn’t trimmed.
Lowry — who’s earning $28.3 million this season and due to make $29.7 million in the final season of his deal — said neither he nor his agent Mark Bartelstein have asked the Heat if he might be dealt.
“I’ve been in trade rumors strength was also her most glaring shortfall: her serve. Capable of delivering aces, she also had a wellknown problem with double-faulting, leading the tour in that category last year with nearly 400, including matches with more than 20.
After much prodding from her group, she agreed to undergo an overhaul of her mechanics last August. That, along with a commitment to trying to keep her emotions in check — she used to work with a sports psychologist but no longer, saying she relies on herself now — is really paying off. before,” he said. “I have a very nice contract that can be moved. The organization believes in me and I’m glad to be here.
“I want to stay. I enjoy this place. I picked this place. I feel we have a chance to always compete for a title. With Jimmy, Bam, Tyler and Spo as a coach we always have an opportunity.”
Some Heat fans have complained about the low scoring totals in games. Does that bother him?
“I don’t care,” he said. “Of course, I would love to average 25, but if it doesn’t win games and doesn’t help our team overall, it doesn’t matter. I would rather get two points and help these guys win the game.”
But he also makes this clear: “I always want to do better. Individually you want to do better. But if your team is winning, you go with what it is.”
And the Heat has been winning, overcoming a
7-11 start to move to a season-high six games above .500 on Friday, at 28-22.
The NBA fined the Heat $25,000 “for failing to comply with league policies governing injury reporting.” It’s the Heat’s second such fine this season.
A“She didn’t have great serve last year, but now she was super strong and she served well,” said Rybakina, a 23-year-old who represents Kazakhstan. “For sure, I respect that. I know how much work it takes.”
With seagulls squawking loudly while flying overhead at Rod Laver Arena, Rybakina and Sabalenka traded serious racket swings for nearly 2 1⁄2 hours.
The serves were big. So big. Rybakina’s fastest arrived at 121 mph, Sabalenka’s at 119 mph.
The points were over quickly. So quickly: Seven of the first 13 were aces.
Sabalenka had been broken just six times in 55 service games through the course of these two weeks, but Rybakina did it twice in the opening set.
And never again. Sabalenka resolved to take the initiative even more, and the payoff for her highrisk, high-reward attitude was too much for Rybakina to withstand over the last two sets.
At the end, when it mattered more than ever, Sabalenka was able to steady herself. After the final point, she dropped to her back on the court and stayed down for a bit, covering her face as her eyes welled with tears.
Quite a difference from a year ago at Melbourne Park, when Sabalenka departed after 15 doublefaults in a fourth-round loss.
MEN’S DOUBLES
The Australian pair of Rinky Hijikata and Jason Kubler defeated Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski 6-4, 7-6 (4) to win the men’s doubles title at the Australian Open on Saturday.
It was the first Grand Slam title for both Hijikata and Kubler — the third Australian team to win a men’s doubles title in the past five Grand Slams.
Australia has a long history of strong doubles team. This pair was the 16th all-Australian team to win a Grand Slam men’s doubles title in the Open era.