Belarusian player Aryna Sabalenka warmed up for the Australian Open by claiming her 11th WTA Tour title with a triumph over Czech teen sensation qualifier Linda Noskova in the Adelaide International 1 final on Sunday.
Sabalenka claimed her 11th career singles title with a 6-3, 7-6(4) victory over qualifier Linda Noskova. It is World No.5 Sabalenka's first title since she took the crown at Madrid in May of 2021.
The competition was won by the No. 2 seed this week, Sabalenka, who powered through the 1-hour, 43-minute final and took home the championship without dropping a set the entire week.
When Sabalenka's first serve during the championship game was in play. All three break points that Sabalenka faced during the match were avoided because to her 12 aces.
Both players avoided two early break points before Sabalenka broke for 4-2 behind a strong backhand to take the lead. With only one more point dropped on her delivery, Sabalenka quickly finished the first set while using strong serves and forehands.
Noskova kept the second set much closer, and the teenager was two points away from tying the match after crushing a return winner for a deuce at 5-4. Despite competing in her first career final, the teenager displayed amazing poise. But eventually, the second set went into a tiebreak.
By committing two early double faults in the breaker, Noskova handed Sabalenka the advantage, which she took advantage of to go to a 5-1 lead. At 6-3, Sabalenka received a triple championship point thanks to a successful passing shot, and on her second match point, she served flawlessly once more.
"I think I'm a different player right now. Maybe a little bit smarter, a little bit calmer on the court. Just a little bit of everything changed," Wta.com quoted Sabalenka as saying after her win when reflecting on her time between titles.
"I think my serve helped me a lot, today especially. I think I didn't give her much opportunities on my serve. I was able to put her under pressure on her serve. So I think that's why I won today," Sabalenka said.
( With inputs from ANI )
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