Aryna Sabalenka wins 1st Grand Slam title at Australian Open
Melbourne, Jan 28: Aryna Sabalenka scripted a brilliant comeback to win her maiden Australian Open singles title after defeating Jelena Rybakina in the final on Saturday.
Aryna Sabalenka, a 24-year-old from Belarus, who won her first Grand Slam title by coming back to beat Wimbledon champion Rybakina 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 at Melbourne Park on Saturday night, using 17 aces among her 51 total winners to overcome seven double-faults.
It was telling that Sabalenka's remarks during the post-match ceremony were directed at her coach, Anton Dubrov, and her fitness trainer, Jason Stacy she referred to them as "the craziest team on tour, I would say."
"We've been through a lot of, I would say, downs last year," said Sabalenka, who was appearing in her first major final. "We worked so hard and you guys deserve this trophy. It's more about you than it's about me."
Now 11-0 in 2023 with two titles already, she is a powerful player whose most glowing strength was also her most glaring shortfall: her serve. Long capable of hammering aces, she also had a well-known problem with double-faulting, leading the tour in that category last year with nearly 400, including more than 20 apiece in some matches.
After much prodding from her group, she finally agreed to undergo an overhaul of her serving mechanics last August. That, along with a commitment to trying to stay calm in the most high-pressure moments, is really paying off now.
The only set she has dropped all season was the opener on Saturday against Rybakina, who eliminated No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the fourth round.
But Sabalenka turned things around with an aggressive style and, importantly, by breaking Rybakina three times, the last coming for a 4-3 lead in the third set that was never relinquished.
Still, Sabalenka needed to work for the championship while serving in what would be the last game, double-faulting on her initial match point and requiring three more to close things out.
When Rybakina sent a forehand long to cap the final after nearly 2 1/2 hours, Sabalenka dropped to her back on the court and stayed down for a bit, covering her face as her eyes welled with tears.
Sabalenka was 0-3 in Grand Slam semifinals until eliminating Magda Linette in Melbourne. Now Sabalenka has done one better and will rise to No. 2 in the rankings.
As seagulls were squawking loudly while flying overhead at Rod Laver Arena, Rybakina and Sabalenka traded booming serves. Rybakina's fastest arrived at 121 mph (195 kph), Sabalenka's at 119 mph (192 kph). They traded zooming groundstrokes from the baseline, often untouchable, resulting in winner after winner.
"Hopefully," Rybakina said afterward, "we're going to have many more battles."
The key statistic, ultimately, was this: Sabalenka accumulated 13 break points, Rybakina seven. Sabalenka's trio of conversions was enough, and the constant pressure she managed to apply during Rybakina's service games had to take a toll.
Sabalenka had been broken just six times in 55 service games through the course of these two weeks, an average of once per match. It took Rybakina fewer than 10 minutes of action and all of two receiving games to get the measure of things and lead 2-1, helped by getting back one serve that arrived at 117 mph (189 kph).
A few games later, Sabalenka returned the favor, also putting her racket on one of Rybakina's offerings at that same speed. Then, when Sabalenka grooved a down-the-line backhand passing winner to grab her first break and pull even at 4-all, she looked at Dubrov and Stacy in the stands, raised a fist and shouted.
In the next game, though, Sabalenka gave that right back, double-faulting twice including on break point to give Rybakina a 5-4 edge. This time, Sabalenka again turned toward her entourage, but with a sigh and an eye roll and arms extended, as if to say, "Can you believe it?"
Soon after, Rybakina held at love to own that set.
Sabalenka changed the momentum right from the get-go in the second set. Aggressively attacking, she broke to go up 3-1, held for 4-1 and eventually served it out, fittingly, with an ace on a second serve, no less.
Sabalenka acknowledged ahead of time that she expected to be nervous. Which makes perfect sense: This was the most important match of her career to date.
And if those jitters were evident ever-so-briefly early she double-faulted on the evening's very first point and appeared to be resurfacing as the end neared, Sabalenka controlled them well enough to finish the job.
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Will allow only individuals with more than two children to contest local body polls: Andhra CM
Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh) (PTI): Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said that an individual can become a sarpanch, municipal councillor or a mayor only if he/she has more than two children, hinting that it will arrest the falling population.
Naidu said he will bring out policies to encourage people to have more children.
"At one time, individuals with many children were not allowed to contest the panchayat (election) or local bodies. Now what I am saying is that individuals with lower numbers of children cannot contest. You will be a sarpanch, municipal councillor, corporation chairman or a mayor only if you have more than two children," he told reporters in Naravaripalle here recently.
According to the CM, North India may lose its advantage of having a stable fertility rate in about 15 years.
The TDP supremo noted that the older generations had more children, while the current generation brought it down to one child and also highlighted that some 'smart' people nowadays are going for double income no kids (DINK) concept to enjoy.
"Your parents bore four to five children and you reduced it to one. Even smarter people now are saying double income no kids let us enjoy. If their parents had thought like them, they would not have come into this world," he said.
All countries made this mistake, and we have to make the decision at the right time, said Naidu, adding that the importance of having more children was not stressed and the situation went out of hand.
Citing countries like South Korea and Japan and continental Europe, he said people in those places did not realise the danger of plummeting populations but only focused on creating wealth, raising income and taking those countries forward.
"Now they need people, we have to send them. We came to that situation," Naidu added.
Early this month, Naidu flagged the falling birthrates and said India should not repeat the mistakes committed by other countries such as South Korea and Japan, where birthrates have plummeted.
The CM said some couples are averse to having children nowadays because they do not want to share the money they earned and use those riches for their own enjoyment.
Naidu, in October last year, said there was a need to manage the population in Andhra Pradesh given that there will be an increase in the aging population.
"Till 2047, we will have the demographic dividend, there will be more youngsters. After 2047, there will be more old people…if less than two children are given birth (per woman), then the population will reduce. If you (each woman) give birth to more than two children, then the population will increase," Naidu had said.
