Aryna Sabalenka Reveals the Brutal Lessons She Learnt After Landing Second US Open Title

Aryna Sabalenka crushed Amanda Anisimova’s hopes of winning a Grand Slam as she battled past the American to claim the US Open in straight sets. But it was Sabalenka’s first major title this season after having reached two finals, and her fourth tour-level crown after getting to eight championship matches.

Sabalenka had suffered heartbreaking defeats on two occasions at Grand Slam events this season and had to put the lessons to use against Anisimova. She had lost to American star Madison Keys at the Australian Open final in January before Coco Gauff stunned her in three sets at Roland Garros.

Also, Anisimova had defeated the 27-year-old at the Wimbledon Championships in three sets in the semi-finals, a tournament she was the favorite to win. But Sabalenka beat the 24-year-old 6-3, 7-6(3) in the final of the US Open at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York. The Belarusian dropped to her knees, overcome with emotion, after securing the victory.

However, Sabalenka revealed before her clash against Anisimova that she wouldn’t allow her emotions to ruin her game, and she did exactly that. But it was Anisimova that let pressure control her own game as she won just 50 percent of her first-serve points, twenty less than what she struck against Naomi Osaka in the semi-finals.

During Sabalenka’s post-match press conference, she was asked what she did that made her beat Anisimova at the US Open after having suffered two defeats in Grand Slam finals. The World No.1 narrated that she made sure she didn’t repeat the same mistakes she made at the Australian Open and Roland Garros final:

I received very tough lessons early in the season. I lost a couple of Grand Slam finals, and winning this one means a lot to defend the title. After the Australian Open, I thought the right thing to do was to forget it and move on, but then the same thing happened to me at Roland Garros. After Roland Garros, I thought that maybe it was time to reflect on those finals and learn something because I didn’t want it to repeat over and over.

Sabalenka hit 70 unforced errors against Gauff in the French Open final, the highest in a singles match at the event this year. The 27-year-old hit 13 unforced errors and four double faults during her loss against Keys at the Australian Open.

Aryna Sabalenka reveals why she was emotional after winning the US Open

Aryna Sabalenka answered her critics in the final opportunity of the season with a more confident performance to win her fourth career Grand Slam singles title at the US Open. The World No.1 was unable to serve out the match at 5-4 in the second set, but she did well to recover and dominate the tie-break to seal the victory.