MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Elena Rybakina won the Australian Open title with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 victory over top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka on Saturday that avenged her loss in the championship decider here in 2023.
Four years ago she won the first set but lost the final in three. This time, after breaking in the first game and taking the first set, she rallied after losing the second set and going down 3-0 in the third. She won five straight games and then closed out with an ace on her first championship point.
It was a second major title for fifth-seeded Rybakina, who won Wimbledon in 2022 and entered that final four years ago as the only major winner in the contest.
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