MELBOURNE, Australia — The first serve Zheng Qinwen sent to Aryna Sabalenka in Saturday’s Australian Open women’s final was slapped back over the net with so much venom that it almost passed the world No. 12 before she was able to jam her racket down on it.
It was that familiar sign of immediate intent from Sabalenka, something that had held her in great stead this fortnight at Melbourne Park. It also left little doubt in anyone’s mind as to which player would be dictating terms in this match.
For 75 minutes, Sabalenka bullied her counterpart from China, smashing her way to Australian Open glory for the second time in as many years. Her 6-3, 6-2 triumph over Zheng capped one of the most dominant runs to a Slam title in tennis history, with Sabalenka a perfect 14-for-14 in sets, dropping just 31 games en route to the title.
Sabalenka, 25, never allowed first-time major finalist Zheng a moment to relax. The world No. 2 feasted on her serve, that same serve…
