World number one Aryna Sabalenka battled past home hope Amanda Anisimova to retain her US Open title and finally secure her first Grand Slam trophy of the year.
Sabalenka maintained a steadier level to win 6-3 7-6 (7-3) in a battle between two of the biggest ball-strikers in the women’s game.
The Belarusian dropped to her knees, overcome with emotion, after securing victory in a year where she had suffered defeat in two Grand Slam finals.
Victory did not come without some tension, however.
Defending champion Sabalenka was unable to serve out the match at 5-4, but recovered to dominate the tie-break and seal victory on her third championship point.
The 27-year-old has again been the WTA Tour’s most dominant player this season, but questions had been raised about her emotional composure in the latter stages of the majors.
Sabalenka answered the critics in her final opportunity of the season with a largely assured performance to claim her fourth Grand Slam singles title.
Instead, it was American eighth seed Anisimova who paid the price for not being able to maintain a consistently high level.
The 24-year-old produced a better performance than her first major final – when she was thrashed 6-0 6-0 by Poland’s Iga Swiatek at Wimbledon in July – but was left in tears after again coming up short.
Experience proves key for Sabalenka
The relief shown by Sabalenka was the product of her frustration at not already claiming one of the sport’s four biggest prizes this year.
At the Australian Open, the two-time defending champion could not cope with Madison Keys’ destructive power, then she lost to Coco Gauff in the French Open showpiece after clubbing 70 unforced errors.
Sabalenka fell a stage earlier at Wimbledon, unable to match Anisimova’s bravery in their semi-final.
This time, after a few histrionics early on, Sabalenka locked in and was smart tactically to avenge her defeat at the All England Club eight weeks ago.
“After two finals where I completely lost control of my emotions, I didn’t want to let that to happen again,” Sabalenka told Sports Media.
“There were some moments where I was close to letting it go, but I kept calm.”
Sabalenka’s game plan was to counter Anisimova’s pace and force her opponent into mistakes.
Anisimova’s experience against Swiatek was a chastening one, overcome by nerves and too frozen to change tack in the biggest SW19 beating in over a century.
Coming through that ordeal has made her stronger, but there were still visible signs of tension throughout an absorbing final in New York.
Anisimova hit seven double faults – although she later blamed the floodlights of the Arthur Ashe Stadium roof – while 22 winners were outweighed by 29 unforced errors.
“It’s been a great summer. Losing two finals in a row is great but also super hard,” said Anisimova.
“I didn’t fight hard enough for my dreams today.”
