For a decade this most volatile of titles has been tossed from player to player like a hot coal, waiting for a woman with the will to grasp it and cling on. In Aryna Sabalenka, that woman has arrived, as the Belarusian took down Amanda Anisimova to become the first player to defend the US Open title since the mighty Serena Williams in 2014.
In so doing, the world No1 from Belarus finally capped off the most dominant season of her career. In Australia she shattered a racket on court after letting the final slip to Madison Keys; in Paris she fell to pieces against Coco Gauff.
At the third time of asking her nerves held true as steel. Even when she failed to serve out the match and the American fans bellowed for their player to take us into a decider, Sabalenka played a perfect tiebreak to win 6-3, 7-6 – and with it a record prize of $5million.
The 27-year-old’s fourth Grand Slam title puts her two behind her great rival Iga Swiatek.
Talking of Swiatek, for Anisimova this was a second straight Grand Slam final defeat after the Pole thrashed her at Wimbledon. The 24-year-old will have to settle for only partial redemption from that traumatic 6-0, 6-0 defeat.
Anisimova revenged herself on Swiatek, reached another final, and here showed she could combat the nerves. It has been an astonishing recovery from that tearful day in London, it has been the best story of the tournament, but the fairytale ending was a page too far.
Aryna Sabalenka defended her US Open title, beating USA’s Amanda Anisimova in the final
It was a commanding 6-3, 7-6 victory for Sabalenka, who won her fourth Grand Slam title
Sadly, it all ended in tears again. Anisimova came far closer this time, of course, but that will only have worsened the pain.
She sobbed in her chair afterwards and said: ‘Losing two finals is so hard. Aryna, you are incredible. I’m in awe of what you have achieved.
‘I didn’t fight hard enough for my dreams today.’
To her opponent, Sabalenka said: ‘Amanda, I know how much it hurts losing in the finals.
‘You will win your first one. You will enjoy that even more after losing in these tough finals.’
Anisimova came in having won six of her nine meetings with Sabalenka. That relative dominance is down to the sheer power of her strokes – she is perhaps the only woman in the world who can outhit Sabalenka, can force her on to the defensive.
In the first set Sabalenka struck only three winners – in her previous three rounds the fewest she hit in a set was 11. That she still managed to win that set and this match showed how much she has developed as a player.
Along with her incomparable coaching team of Anton Dubrov, Jason Stacey and Max Mirnyi, Sabalenka’s mission has been to add layer on layer to her game until she is a truly complete player. This performance showed that this process is reaching its endgame.
For Anisimova, it was more heartbreak after her crushing loss in the Wimbledon final this year
This was a Sabalenka we had not seen before; a Sabalenka in lockdown mode. She made just four unforced errors in the first set and at times did a decent impression of her great friend Novak Djokovic.
At 1-1 in the second set came a point that will surely please team Sabalenka more than any other. She scrapped and scurried across the baseline, hacking chipping or scooping the ball back, and when Anisimova out of desperation threw over a drop shot, Sabalenka ran it down and feathered over a re-drop winner.
John McEnroe remarked before this final that these two have similar gamestyles, but that is true only in the sense that they both smack seven bells out of the ball. Sabalenka possesses greater variety, hitting with more shape and spin and mixing in slices.
Anisimova goes flat and hard at almost every ball. It is hair-raising to watch and for Anisimova must feel like driving a Formula 1 car round a bend with wet tyres.
The American – up to world No4 now – has said that to execute this style she must play totally free of fear. We saw at Wimbledon what can happen if a dose of tension is added to her no-margin game.
And when she dropped the first two games of this match the spectre of Wimbledon could be felt shimmering around Arthur Ashe Stadium.
But the Anisimova backhand – the most lethal weapon on show this fortnight – clicked into gear and she broke for a 3-2 lead. Sabalenka dug in and reeled off four games to take the set.
After an early break in the second set this final had the look of a procession. But when Sabalenka served for the match Anisimova launched a thrilling rearguard. At 30-30 Sabalenka dragged a smash into the net, then on break point Anisimova’s backhand went into redline mode. Five games apiece and all to play for, but Sabalenka dominated the tiebreak, taking it 7-3 and dropping to her knees in a tearful heap.
A worthy end to an excellent women’s event. From Taylor Townsend to Naomi Osaka, there has been high-class tennis and high drama. But no narrative could touch the redemption arc of Anisimova; and no champion could be more worthy than Sabalenka.
