Jimmy Connors thinks Aryna Sabalenka “lacked a killer instinct” in the Australian Open final and that ultimately led to what happened.
For the good set and a half Sabalenka struggled to break Elena Rybakina’s serve. But after finally doing so in the 10th game of the second set, the Belarusian forced a decider – went 3-0 up in the third set – and was also two points away from going 4-0 up in the decider.
From that moment on, everything went downhill for Sabalenka, who dropped the next five games and found herself trailing 3-5. While the top seed managed to serve out the ninth game, Rybakina stayed calm and closed out the match on her serve for a 6-4 4-6 6-4 win.
Connors, a former eight-time Grand Slam champion, says Sabalenka simply should not have allowed that to happen.
Connors: When you get somebody like Sabalenka did in the third set, you got to do everything to stay on top
“Sabalenka, once again, I think she was 3-0 up in the third, right? I might take a little ribbon for this but you got to have that killer instinct,” the American tennis legend said on his podcast.
“When you get somebody, especially in the finals like that, you got to get on top and you got to do everything you can to stay on top and to keep the pressure on and cut down on your mistakes and don’t give any points away and make your opponent earn everything.
“I know she’s had bad luck in the past, losing a number of finals that maybe she shouldn’t have, but up 3-0 in the third in a Major like that, you’ve got to close the deal. She’s way too good a player to not do that.”
For Sabalenka, it was her third Grand Slam final loss in the last 12 months – the Belarusian also lost last year’s finals at the Australian Open and French Open, while she managed to win the US Open. The 27-year-old now owns a 4-4 record in her eight Grand Slam finals played.
On the other side, 2022 Wimbledon champion Rybakina is now also an Australian Open champion and has two Grand Slams in her collection.