Aryna Sabalenka left her emotions for the end of the US Open final as she put her grand slam demons behind her with victory over Amanda Anisimova.
When a final backhand from Anisimova drifted just wide, Sabalenka dropped to her knees behind the baseline and sobbed in delight and relief, a fourth slam title finally achieved at the third time of asking.
Both women were looking to bury recent scar tissue, with Anisimova back in a major final 56 days after her Wimbledon whitewash, while Sabalenka suffered heart-breaking defeats at both the Australian Open and French Open, where she was forced to apologise after an ungracious press conference towards winner Coco Gauff.
Sabalenka also lost to Anisimova in the semi-finals at Wimbledon, but in New York she finally got her hands on the trophy, a 6-3 7-6 (3) victory making her the first woman since Serena Williams in 2014 to successfully defend the title.
“It is crazy,” said Sabalenka as she stepped onto the podium. “All the lessons were worth it for this one. I’m speechless.”
The Belarusian later strutted her way into the press conference room, an open bottle of Champagne in one hand and a beaming smile on her face.
“Because of the finals earlier this season, this one felt different,” she said. “This one felt like I had to overcome a lot of things.
“I knew that the hard work we put in, I deserved to have a grand slam title this season. So when I fell, it was truly emotions, because it means a lot to defend this title and to bring such great tennis on court.
“And to bring the fight and be able to handle my emotions the way I did in this final, it means a lot. I’m super proud right now of myself.”
Addressing Sabalenaka’s mental struggles ahead of the contest, performance coach Jason Stacy said: “Sometimes she has this internal battle of how to keep that tiger under control but let it free at the same time.”
In Melbourne and Paris, she had not been able to find the right balance but soul searching on holiday in Greece gave her the answers she needed.
“I thought that the right way would be just to forget it and move on, but then the same thing happened at the French Open,” she said.
“So after French Open I figured that, OK, maybe it’s time for me to sit back and to look at those finals and to maybe learn something, because I didn’t want it to happen again and again and again.
“So I was in Mykonos, reading my book, enjoying the view, and I was just thinking that ‘why would I let my emotions take control over me in those two finals?’.”
“It felt like I thought that, OK, if I made it to the final, it means that I’m going to win it, and I sort of didn’t expect players to come out there and to fight. I thought that everything was going to go easily my way, which was completely the wrong mindset.”
Sabalenka’s new approach was certainly tested in New York. She came through a very tight semi-final against Jessica Pegula, while the final against Anisimova had several twists and turns.
From looking like she was going to open up a 3-0 lead, Sabalenka found herself 3-2 down in the opening set, while she led 3-1 and 5-3 in the second set but was unable to serve it out.
When Anisimova pulled it back to 5-5, the New York crowd were on their feet, but Sabalenka proved to herself and to the wider tennis world that she can keep her cool when it really matters.
“In this match, in the first set when she broke me back, and then at the end of the second set when she broke me back, there was two moments where I was really close to losing control, but at that moment I told myself, ‘No, it’s not going to happen. It’s absolutely OK’,” she added.
Anisimova certainly played much better than she had at Wimbledon, while she will have the consolation of a place in the top four on Monday, but there was no hiding her disappointment.
She sobbed in her chair on court, while the 24-year-old could be found outside Arthur Ashe Stadium after the match sipping a Honey Deuce cocktail and being consoled by friends.
“Listening about Wimbledon every single day of the last two weeks, I’ve done really well with that,” said Anisimova with a rueful smile.
“I’ve tried to turn everything around for myself. Obviously today was better than my last final, but today was a really tough match. She made it difficult for me.
“It has been a great summer. Losing in two finals is great but it is also super hard. I didn’t fight hard enough for my dreams today.”
She was not helped by seven double faults, with Sabalenka winning more than half the points on Anisimova’s serve.
The American later revealed the roof, which was closed with heavy rain battering Queens, had caused her difficulties with her ball toss.
“I haven’t played on the court during the day with the roof closed, and it was literally white, and I couldn’t see the ball when I was serving,” she said.
“That was a huge shock to my system because I knew, if I can’t hold my serve, it was going to be very tough to stay in the match.”
