Sabalenka is the first woman since Serena Williams in 2014 to repeat as US Open champion
Ian Casselberry | Yahoo Sports
Aryna Sabalenka has won her second consecutive US Open women’s championship, dispatching Amanda Anisimova in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6 (3).
With the victory, Sabalenka becomes the first woman to earn consecutive US Open titles since Serena Williams won three straight from 2012-14.
The match presented a change of typical roles for the two players. In the past, Sabalenka has let her emotions rattle her when play wasn’t going her way. That appeared as if it might happen when she couldn’t dominate with her serve early on. Anisimova quickly moved from corner to corner, covering every area where Sabalenka could hit the ball.
However, Sabalenka didn’t get flustered and maintained her composure while slowly making adjustments with her shot-making. Initially trying to push Anisimova back with her serve and forehand, Sabalenka slowly worked in some touch and left Anisimova flailing at a few well-placed drop shots.
Early on, Anisimova looked like she would be the one to win with power. Her forehand was particularly formidable, firing shots deep into the corners that left Sabalenka out of position. She also showed impressive precision, slicing backhand and forehand slots just inside the sidelines. Sabalenka thought those shots might go out, but they repeatedly landed in.
However, Anisimova was the player who slowly became unglued as she continually made unforced errors. Those shots along the sideline that landed inside the boundary began to fall out of bounds. And she frequently missed with her serve, hitting the ball into the net.
The roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium was closed due to rain in Flushing, New York. Going into the match, the belief was that might help Anisimova if it made the crowd noise louder as they cheered for the American versus Sabalenka. Yet Anisimova claimed the lights from the roof were shining into her eyes as she tossed the ball up to serve.
Altogether, Anisimova committed 29 unforced errors while Sabalenka made only four for the match. That disparity might explain the match more than any other number.
The other imposing number was Sabalenka’s 20-1 record in tiebreakers. Anisimova won three consecutive games to rally from a 5-3 deficit in the second set to take a 6-5 lead. Suddenly, Sabalenka was in position of needing to hold to stay alive, which she did by rocketing a serve far to Anisimova’s right that she couldn’t hit back over the net.
Sabalenka’s record is now 21-1 in tiebreakers as she dominated the extra game. Anisimova didn’t help herself by again committing errors, hitting the ball outside or long. Despite blowing that lead in the second set, Sabalenka gained confidence and showed with her body language that she knew victory was imminent in a tiebreaker she easily controlled.
Sabalenka also becomes the 10th woman to win consecutive US Open championships. She joins Margaret Court, Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, Monica Seles, Venus Williams, Kim Clijsters and Serena Williams.