Aryna Sabalenka REVEALS how the Australian Open win against Elena Rybakina fueled her during ‘clutch’ moments against Iga Swiatek in Madrid

Aryna Sabalenka drew inspiration from her Australian Open final to topple Iga Swiatek at Madrid

Aryna Sabalenka REVEALS how the Australian Open win against Elena Rybakina fueled her during ‘clutch’ moments against Iga Swiatek in Madrid

Image Credit (from left to right): WTA, WTA, Tennis Infinity

Aryna Sabalenka knew her Madrid Open final match with Iga Swiatek won’t be a cakewalk if she wanted to win. And win she did. But Sabalenka had to dig really deep to win this one out with a score of 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. She had to go back to the same mind space of the Australian Open 2023 final, the match she won against Elena Rybakina.

In the post-match conference, a journalist brought out the similarities between this match to the Australian Open final. And how the vibes of the two matches were very similar. Both matches went long for just a little less than 2.5 hours. In both matches, Aryna Sabalenka won finally on the 4th Championship point.

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The journalist asked Sabalenka, did she feel the closeness in the 2 finals. Sabalenka said, “It definitely reminded me of the Australian Open match a lot“. And did the similarity in the 2 matches help World No. 2 in any way? She said while playing the last game she kept thinking “I was able to do it in the Australian Open so maybe I will be able to do it today. It helped me stay focus.”

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This was the second final between Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka in quick succession. While Iga won the Stuttgart Open, Sabalenka avenged the defeat with the Madrid Open. This is the second Madrid Open title for the 25-year-old Belarusian. Hope this amazing win redeems Sabalenka of not winning the Porsche that Iga won in the Stuttgart Open. Sabalenka had jokingly said Porsche should gift a car to the runner-up.

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Similarities for Aryna Sabalenka in both finals

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Image Credit: ATP

Both the Madrid Open and the Australian Open were very similar to Aryna Sabalenka. Both were three-setters. The Australian Open one went for 2 hours 28 mins, whereas the Madrid Open went on for 2 hours 26 mins. Though she won the first set at Madrid, she lost the first set to Elena Rybakina 4-6. The two matches did not have a tiebreak. And both the Championship finals were won by Sabalenka at the 4th Championship point.

Both finals were quite intense with longer rallies as compared to the speed game, which is becoming a mainstay in women’s tennis. There was never a moment in the match where one didn’t feel that it could go the other player’s way. Hence, Sabalenka had to actually keep her focus on and play each point as diligently and sharply as possible. Sabalenka came on top on both occasions but with immense respect for both the tennis stars against her. Rybakina and Swiatek. The French Open is getting heated up for some exciting battles.

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