MELBOURNE: Aryna Sabalenka is a towering personality with a ginormous game. The Belarusian’s USP is her ability to play high-voltage tennis at all times. Sabalenka goes mostly with instinct, but her game isn’t without tactics.
The forehand cross-court, used to draw opponents wide, has given an edge to her returns, and has been perfected over the past year. Not enough is said about the 26-year-old’s flawless footwork, getting her into position to play her shots.
Her play is so big, Madison Keys of the US will look to top that in Saturday’s women’s final, where Sabalenka will be going for a three-peat. The defending champion and world No. 1 thought it was just ‘crazy’ that she had put herself in a position to win three successive Australian titles and fix her name alongside the sport’s legends.
Swiss Martina Hingis is the last woman to achieve that feat, from 1997 to 1999. It’s no surprise that Sabalenka, the Minsk-born Miami resident, called Melbourne Park ‘home’.
“I feel good here, I feel the support, this year even more. I feel like I’m coming to my home slam,” said. “I know everything, I know every area, I know where to warm up so it’s not that crowded. I go (out) there and I feel people screaming my name. I have goosebumps every time they scream, ‘Let’s go, Aryna!’.”
Keys, seeded 19, playing her first final here, applauded Sabalenka’s mentality.
“She plays such fearless tennis,” she said.
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