"To step up and start taking your place, to be one of the forces in the game" - Jimmy Connors praises Aryna Sabalenka on manner of Australian Open win
Former American tennis player Jimmy Connors has praised Aryna Sabalenka for the manner of her 2023 Australian Open triumph.
Sabalenka came from a set down to defeat Elena Rybakina in the Melbourne final. After a two-hour and 28-minute battle, she emerged victorious 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to clinch her maiden Grand Slam title.
The Belarusian dominated reigning Wimbledon champion Rybakina, posting more aces (17 to 9), winners (51 to 31), and overall points (109 to 103) en route to the title. In fact, her ace count was just one shy of her career-high and the second most in a WTA Tour final since 2008.
Speaking on an episode of the Advantage Connors podcast, Jimmy Connors stated that Sabalenka had a great campaign Down Under. He also revealed that while he doesn't regularly watch tennis matches, he did sit down to catch the women's singles final at Melbourne Park.
"It was a great Australian Open for her [Aryna Sabalenka], I'm happy for her. To be honest, I don't watch a whole lot of tennis but I do get involved in it. For me to sit down and to watch quite a bit of that match," he said.
The former World No. 1 stated that it was okay for her to have been nervous entering the contest as it was the first Grand Slam final of her career.
"I was interested in just how she would handle that (double faults)," he said. "If she would be able to overcome the double faults, even though she started out a little nervous. Which is okay, you should. It's a final of a Grand Slam and her first final, even though she had been to the semis before but boy did she handle it then."
When the chips were down, Sabalenka played aggressively to stay in the contest. Her average forehand speed in the third set was clocked at 87 mph. For comparison, Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas, the men's singles finalists at the Asia-Pacific Major this year, average in the low 80s.
Connors praised the 24-year-old for stepping up in the deciding set and clinching the title, showing the world that she could be one of the forces to be reckoned with in the future.
"And the way she played and in the third set the way she went for shots. I said 'you know, good for you.' Yeah, you know to step up and to start taking your place and you know to be one of the forces in the game and I hope that I will say it again," he opined.
"I hope she doesn't go into post-Grand Slam funk" - Jimmy Connors on Aryna Sabalenka
While happy about her 2023 Australian Open triumph, Jimmy Connors is also cautiously optimistic, hoping that Aryna Sabalenka builds on the biggest win of her career.
The eight-time Grand Slam champion urged the Belarusian to take confidence from this win and add more titles to her trophy cabinet.
"I'm very happy for her [Aryna Sabalenka] and I hope she doesn't go into, you know, to that post Grand Slam funk. I hope she doesn't think that she can live off of that for five years," he said.