NewzElena Rybakina won her first US Open championship and punctuated her climb to the top of women's tennis by defeating Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 on Saturday in New York, the third Grand Slam title of her career, and the second this year. Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina holds her trophy after winning the women's singles final match of the US Open. (AFP pic)NEW YORK: Elena Rybakina denied Aryna Sabalenka a third straight US Open title on Saturday, punctuating her rise to world number one with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 victory over the player she's replacing at the summit.Kazakhstan's Rybakina, assured of supplanting Sabalenka atop the rankings by reaching the semi-finals in New York, won her third Grand Slam title to go with her 2022 Wimbledon crown and the Australian Open trophy she lifted this year with a win over Sabalenka.She became just the second woman to beat a world number one player in two Grand Slam finals in the same year.
The other was Steffi Graf in 1995.Sabalenka, unbeaten in 20 prior matches at Flushing Meadows, clawed back courageously in the second set, breaking Rybakina for the first time in the final game to force the third.But with her trademark aplomb, Rybakina roared back to finish off a frustrated Sabalenka, who smashed her racket while sitting in her chair as her opponent was applauded by the crowd. 1 and she has a third career grand slam to show for it "I'm falling more and more in love with New York."Sabalenka, unbeaten in 20 prior matches at Flushing Meadows, clawed back courageously in the second set, breaking Rybakina for the first time in the final game to force the third.But with her trademark aplomb, Rybakina roared back to finish off a frustrated Sabalenka, who smashed her racket while sitting in her chair as her opponent was applauded by the crowd.Sabalenka, 28, will end the year without a major title for the first time since 2022.The two biggest hitters in the women's game came out swinging.
After Rybakina held to love in the second game, she had Sabalenka in trouble in the third, unleashing a backhand passing winner to set up the first break chances of the match.Sabalenka saved one break point with a forehand down the line and ripped another forehand winner on the next. A double fault gave Rybakina another look but Sabalenka held on with a volley winner before sealing the game with her first ace.Two games later, however, Rybakina seized control as she relentlessly pushed Sabalenka back with her deep groundstrokes. Unsettled, Sabalenka double faulted on break point, then smacked a ball skyward to draw a code violation warning for ball abuse.After another love hold from Rybakina, and a break point saved from Sabalenka, the margin was 4-3.Rybakina hadn't committed a single unforced error through seven games and Sabalenka was looking increasingly desperate.Serving to extend the set at 5-3, she crushed an overhead several feet beyond the baseline and had t…
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