BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka captured her second consecutive Brisbane International title and 22nd career singles crown after a straight-sets victory over Marta Kostyuk on Sunday.
Sabalanka appeared in her third straight Brisbane final and the Belarusian looked in comfortable surroundings as she won 6-4, 6-3 in Pat Rafter Arena.
The Brisbane International is a tuneup for the Australian Open which begins next Sunday.
High intensity final
Kostyuk went hard early by attacking Sabalenka’s second serve, clawing back an early break with sublime drop shots that briefly rattled the world No. 1.
However, Sabalenka’s relentless intensity and match smarts proved decisive as she exploited the oppressive Brisbane humidity with punishing baseline rallies to clinch the opening set in 40 minutes.
Kostyuk wilted under the physical strain and Sabalenka accelerated in the second set.
With a mix of raking groundstrokes and deceptive drop shots, she forced a mounting error count from the Ukrainian to close out the match without dropping a set all week.
Frosty post-match atmosphere
After the victory, Sabalenka looked down the court at Kostyuk and kissed both biceps, a likely nod to previous comments by Kostyuk that she possessed higher testosterone levels than other players.
Kostyuk has said the comments last year were taken out of context but increased the tensions between the pair since the Ukrainian’s refusal to shake Sabalenka’s hand after a match at the 2023 French Open.
The post-match trophy presentation was frosty. Kostyuk spoke passionately about her homeland but notably declined to mention Sabalenka by name.
“I want to say a few words about Ukraine,” Kostyuk said. “I play every day with a pain in my heart. There are thousands of people who are without light and warm water right now, it’s minus-20 degrees outside right now, so it’s very, very painful to live this reality every day.
“I was incredibly moved and happy to see so many Ukrainian fans and flags here this week … slava Ukraini (glory to Ukraine).”
Sabalenka, meanwhile, congratulated Kostyuk, stating she hoped they would meet in another final soon. She also took a cheeky dig at her boyfriend Georgios Frangulis.
“Hopefully soon I will call you somehow else,” Sabalenka said looking at Frangulis in the player’s box. “That just put extra pressure, right?”
Medvedev wins men’s title
Later, Daniil Medvedev also won his 22nd singles title after easing past Brandon Nakashima 6-2, 7-6 (1) in the men’s final.
The Russian dominated the American in the tiebreaker, claiming the first five points.