Aryna Sabalenka reached her first grand-slam final with an impressive 7-6 (1), 6-2 victory over Magda Linette
The first-set tie-break said it all – Magda Linette lost it 7-1 and she had not done anything wrong. Until then it was toe to toe and anyone’s guess who would leave Rod Laver Arena withAryna Sabalenka generally does not shift through the gears, mainly because she starts at full throttle and keeps her foot down for the entire match. But there was another, supersonic something or other she had kept in her back pocket for Thursday’s semi-final.
“I didn’t start really well,” Sabalenka said. “Then in the tie-break I found my rhythm and just started trusting myself, started going for the shots. It was great tennis from me in the tie-break. I’m super happy that I was able to get this win.” Linette, the unseeded 30-year-old who had finally found her place at the business end of a big tournament, had seen off her fair share of heavy hitters at Melbourne Park. Karolina Pliskova and Caroline Garcia bit the dust along her way and she made a good fist of Sabalenka’s powerhouse performance. The Pole’s defensive skills absorbed much of the barrage and her footwork allowed her to redirect what she had soaked up to the desired location, particularly from her backhand.
There were no real holes in her game, which meant she was either going to find some in Sabalenka’s or push her to another level. The odds were stacked in her opponent’s favour and the pre-match contrast in body language made for an interesting subplot. In the bowels of Rod Laver Arena, Sabalenka completed warm-up drills with a swiss ball and the look of a player loose and unperturbed about the moment of truth that awaited.
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