Mature Sabalenka takes control of her own destiny

Melbourne: Alina Sabalenka Win second Grand Slam title At Saturday’s Australian Open, she combined undoubted tennis prowess with a more relaxed mindset and the discipline to stick to her strategy.

After breaking through and claiming her first Grand Slam title at Melbourne Park last year, the powerful 25-year-old Belarusian once again proved she is capable of winning the title with a 6-3, 6-2 win over No. 12 seed Zheng Qinwen of China. champion.

The big win on a cool Melbourne night banished her fears of becoming a one-hit wonder – a fate that has befallen many of her contemporaries since the days of Serena Williams On people.

In the process, she became the first female player to successfully defend her title at Melbourne Park since compatriot Victoria Azarenka in 2013.

“I think my mentality is, I’m not going to go crazy on the court, I’m not going to rush it,” said the world No. 2, who now has 14 titles.

“You know, I was just playing little by little, that’s it, fighting for every point, not thinking too much about my dreams, what I wanted to do, how many Grand Slams I wanted to win and so on.

“I was able to separate myself from that mentality and start focusing on myself and what I could improve on, what I could do better and what I actually needed to do to win every game I played.”

Her breakthrough in Melbourne last season, followed by semifinals in Paris and Wimbledon before reaching the U.S. Open final, was a stark contrast to her performance two years ago.

Sabalenka’s emotional fragility was painfully exposed when she had to wade through an uphill battle at the 2022 Australian Open when her serve was shattered.

The dramatic change was the reward for her hard work with coaches and sports psychologists, which gave her a Zen-like calm without losing any of her fierce competitive instincts.

“It’s important that she has more and more discipline to stick to the plan and strategy no matter how she feels or what’s going on,” her strength and conditioning coach Jason Stacey said before the final.

“She believes in herself more and knows what she’s doing more.

“I think seeing that, no matter how the game goes, no matter how she’s feeling or what she’s thinking, she just has the discipline to just keep her feet on the ground and keep taking the next step.”

“Control myself”

Belief in this strategy has allowed Sabalenka to get out of trouble rather than the many she has faced over the past two weeks in her bid for the title.

Wearing a striking red dress on the blue court, she didn’t drop a set, only being taken to a tiebreaker in the semifinals by U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff.

Sabalenka attributes her consistency over the past year to “more maturity, more maturity, whatever you want to call it.”

The Belarusian, who has been battling Iga Swiatek for the world number one spot, now feels under control as she no longer needs her sports psychologist.

“When you work with a psychologist at some point, it really helps, especially with younger players,” she said.

“But at some point you start expecting someone to help you. You know, you can’t figure it out on your own.

“I just decided at some point that I needed to figure out on my own how to start controlling myself better.

“I think this decision was the most important decision for me and I started to really take responsibility for everything I did and it really helped me become more in control on the court.”