Aryna Sabalenka wins Brisbane title ahead of Australian Open

World fig 1 becomes back-to-back champion astatine the Brisbane International with a straight-sets triumph implicit Marta Kostyuk.

World fig 1 Aryna Sabalenka brushed speech Marta Kostyuk 6-4, 6-3 successful the Brisbane International last connected Sunday to clasp the rubric without losing a acceptable up of her bid to reclaim the Australian Open rubric this month.

Kostyuk had beaten apical 10 players Jessica Pegula, Mirra Andreeva and Amanda Anisimova connected her mode to the last but was nary lucifer for the sheer powerfulness of the US Open champion.

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Sabalenka is determined to triumph backmost the Australian Open rubric she relinquished past year, and her show successful the fierce Brisbane vigor suggests she volition beryllium hard to bushed astatine Melbourne Park this month.

“Thank you to my squad for handling me. I’m truly the toughest 1 to handle, and you guys are the toughest radical successful the satellite if you tin grip me,” she told the assemblage earlier directing a remark at partner Georgios Frangulis in the stands.

“Thank you to my boyfriend. Hopefully, soon I’ll telephone you thing else, right? Let’s conscionable enactment a spot of other unit on, right?”

Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk successful enactment during the last against Sabalenka [Dan Peled/Reuters]

Sabalenka overpowers Kostyuk

Sabalenka raced disconnected to a 3-0 pb successful the opening acceptable earlier coming a spot unstuck arsenic her archetypal service deserted her and her 23-year-old hostile feasted connected her second.

There were the acquainted hangdog expressions as Sabalenka raised her eyes to the skies successful absorption to spraying a changeable precocious and wide, but it did not past for long.

Rallying astatine 3-3, Sabalenka reduced the fig of chaotic swings and heaped the unit connected her 26th-ranked hostile with the sheer powerfulness and accuracy of her strokes.

She rapidly wrapped up the opening acceptable and was soon 3-0 up successful the 2nd aft again taking Kostyuk’s archetypal work game.

There was nary mode backmost for Kostyuk this time, and she faced a existent conflict conscionable to clasp her service 3 times earlier Sabalenka served retired to unafraid her 22nd WTA title, sealing the woody erstwhile her hostile netted a instrumentality connected her archetypal title point.

Kostyuk said her thoughts were with the radical backmost location successful her war-torn country.

“I play each time with a symptom successful my heart, and determination are thousands of radical who are without airy and lukewarm water,” she said.

“Right present it’s minus 20 degrees [Celsius] outside, truthful it’s very, precise achy to unrecorded this world each day. It’s precise blistery present successful Brisbane, truthful it’s hard to ideate this, but my sister is sleeping nether 3 blankets due to the fact that of however acold it is astatine home.”

Sabalenka will beryllium gunning for a 3rd Australian Open and 5th large rubric astatine the year’s archetypal Grand Slam, which starts connected January 18.

Sabalenka won her 2nd consecutive Brisbane International rubric and volition effort to triumph a 3rd Australian Open singles crown successful Melbourne aboriginal this period [Dan Peled/Reuters]