Aryna Sabalenka underlined why she had long been considered the Australian Open favourite by overpowering Zheng Qinwen to retain the women’s title.
Belarusian second seed Sabalenka won 6-3 6-2 to claim her second Grand Slam singles trophy without dropping a set.
With 12th seed Zheng backed by passionate Chinese support, a composed Sabalenka sucked the energy out of her opponent and the crowd in a fast start.
She is the first woman to win back-to-back since Victoria Azarenka in 2013.
Sabalenka, 25, who became the strong favourite after top seed Iga Swiatek was beaten in the third round, emulated her compatriot Azarenka by completing victory in little over an hour.
“It’s been an amazing couple of weeks and I couldn’t imagine lifting the trophy another time,” said Sabalenka.
Zheng, 21, was playing in her first major final and often looked overawed – by both the occasion and her opponent.
Sabalenka back with a bang
When Sabalenka won in Melbourne last year, the key factors behind her success were remodelling her serve to avoid the double faults which had plagued her and working with a psychologist.
Her development over the rest of the 2023 season led to a a first stint as the world number one and becoming the most consistent women’s player at the Grand Slams.
Sabalenka went on to reach at least the semi-finals at the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open, losing in the final of the latter to American teenager Coco Gauff after winning the first set.
Returning to Melbourne, the experience of already having won added an extra layer of belief she could do it again.
Sabalenka dropped just 16 games on her way to the semi-finals – where she then exacted revenge on Gauff in straight sets – before turning her attention to Zheng.
Executing her aggressive approach to near perfection paid dividends.
Sabalenka broke at the first opportunity with a backhand which rocked Zheng, saw off three break points in the next game and continued to force errors from her opponent as she moved towards a clinical victory.
The rare moment of uncertainty in a dominant performance by Sabalenka came when she was trying to close out victory and needed to save a rare break point before taking a fifth championship point.
She took this with a clean forehand crosscourt winner, turning to her team with both arms lifted towards the sky before blowing a kiss.
