Aryna Sabalenka registered a dominant straight-set 6-3, 6-2 win over Zheng Qinwen in the final of the Australian Open on Saturday to claim her second Grand Slam title and defend the maiden crown she won in Melbourne last year. Andy Roddick says Sabalenka “has every right to think she’s the best player in the world right now” after the Belarusian retained her Australian Open championship in 2024. The former American player recognized Sabalenka as the “most consistent player” on the planet in light of her recent big results and lauded her for overcoming her “serving yips.”
During her title run, the World No.2 was remarkably dominant, dropping no sets in seven matches and losing more than three games in only two of the 14 sets she won. These sets came in her 7-6(2), 6-4 semi-final win over Coco Gauff. The 25-year-old has now advanced to the semi-finals or higher in the previous six Grand Slam tournaments dating back to the 2022 US Open, becoming the most consistent WTA player in the sport’s biggest championships during this time.
Roddick praised Sabalenka for her brilliant performances at the Grand Slam and highlighted how she resolved the serving flaws that generated a huge number of double faults in 2022. You love to see progression and hard work being rewarded. The most impressive thing is that 15 months ago she was dealing with the serving yips and there were questions about her mentality and faith in her own game, Roddick said.
The physical attributes have been there from the word go, so credit to her for working through those issues, because this was comprehensive. I hope it’s as gratifying to her as everyone else feels it should be, the former World No.1 expressed. She’s now made the semis or better in the last six majors, and I don’t know that any of us dummies would have looked at her two years ago and said that she was going to be the most consistent player on Earth, Roddick added.
I also thought Qinwen Zheng was great. A lot of seeds fell early on her side of the draw, but there’s a certain pressure that comes with knowing from the round of 16 that you have a real opportunity of making a Grand Slam final. To win six matches and make that a reality is impressive in itself. Her life is going to change now, Roddick concluded.
