Sabalenka keeps cool to retain US Open title

Aryna Sabalenka, the reigning world no. 1, defeated home favorite Amanda Anisimova to win her first Grand Slam crown of the year.

In a fight between two of the biggest ball-strikers in the women’s game, Sabalenka won 6-3 7-6 (7-3) with a more consistent level.

After winning in a year where she had lost to two Grand Slam finals, the Belarusian came to her knees and was overcome with emotion.

However, there was some tension after the victory.

Sabalenka, the defending champion, was unable to hold the tie-break and earn the victory with her third championship point, 5-4, but she rallied to win.

The 27-year-old has once more been the WTA Tour’s most dominant player this year, but concerns had been raised about her emotional arousal in the final few months of major play.

In her fourth Grand Slam singles title defense, Sabalenka delivered a mostly assured performance in the final major of the season.

Instead, Anisimova, the eighth-seeded American, paid the price for her inability to maintain a consistent level.

Sabalenka’s relief following the victory was the result of earlier this year’s disappointment.

Madison Keys, the two-time defending champion, was unable to handle her destructiveness at the Australian Open, and she was ultimately defeated by Coco Gauff in the French Open final after making 70 unforced errors.

Sabalenka had earlier lost a stage at Wimbledon, unable to match Anisimova’s bravery in the semi-final.

After a few histrionics at first, Sabalenka decided to hold on and make a wise decision in the wake of her eight-week absence from the All England Club.

I didn’t want that to happen again after the two finals, Sabalenka told ESPN.

“I almost let it go in a certain way, but I managed to stay calm.”

Sabalenka’s strategy was to slam her opponent for her speed and make her mistakes.

In the biggest blowup in over a century, Anisimova’s performance against Swiatek was a chastening one, overcome by nerves and too frozen to change her mind.

Although she has learned from that experience, there were still visible signs of tension throughout the engrossing final in New York.

“It’s been a fantastic summer,” he said. It’s great but also very difficult to lose two finals in a row, said Anisimova.

Anisimova looked to use her no-frills style, which included all power and no subtlety, to knock Sabalenka out of the court.

However, there were too many fluctuations, which ultimately contributed to yet another emotional Grand Slam defeat.

As she ran for the margins, Anisimova came out firing and blasted her with her flat groundstrokes.

Before Sabalenka recovered to hold and break for 2-0, it had three break points, but Anisimova was able to convert the deficit to moving a break up to 3-2 when it was finally overcome.

However, when she found herself in the lead, her nerves eased.

She couldn’t consolidate, so she threw in a shocking service game with two double faults for 5-3.

Sabalenka held onto the lead with the least amount of reluctance, even though she was sensitive to shifts in her level.

As she labored through her first set of first-class service games, Anisimova cut an exasperated figure as the crowd cheered her on.

As she fell 2-1, Anisimova hit a ball high into the air before toweling her face.

The 25, 000 partisan supporters left the stadium flat, but when Anisimova regrouped, it changed the atmosphere.

Sabalenka’s record for tie-breakers this year was impressive, and she showed it when she took the decisive lead before winning her 19th straight tiebreaker.