Izuchukwu OkosiAryna Sabalenka on Saturday lived up to her ranking as the undisputed favourite for the women’s 2024 Australian Open title in Melbourne, reports Prime Business Africa.
US Open finalists last year defeated Chinese star and 12th seed Zheng Qinwen 6-3 6-2 in little below an hour to retain the women’s title she won in 2023.
The 25-year-old Belarusian who arrived at the tournament as the second seed did not drop a single set and thus became the first woman to win back-to-back since Victoria Azarenka in 2013.
Victoria Azarenka, the top seed, was initially installed as the favourite but suffered an early elimination in the third round.
Zheng was obviously awed by the occasion in her first grand slam
“It’s been an amazing couple of weeks and I couldn’t imagine lifting the trophy another time,” Sabalenka said in her post-match interview.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
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