Confident Elena Rybakina, resurgent Grigor Dimitrov win Brisbane International finals

BRISBANE – Elena Rybakina will head to the Australian Open full of confidence after demolishing Aryna Sabalenka in the Brisbane International women’s final on Jan 7, while Grigor Dimitrov upset Holger Rune to win the men’s title, his first since 2017.

The Kazakh, who will now overtake Coco Gauff to be world No. 3, won the first eight games in a row on her way to a 6-0, 6-3 win in just 73 minutes over the Australian Open champion, in a rematch of the 2023 Melbourne Park final.

It is her sixth WTA title and comes a week before the first Grand Slam of the year.

“For sure it gives me confidence,” Rybakina, 24, said about her Australian Open prospects.

“But this week is just the beginning for all the players. I feel like maybe not everyone is in the best form yet.

“I’m playing well now, so hopefully, as I said, I continue.”

The 2022 Wimbledon winner was in irresistible form all week, spending only three hours and 39 minutes on court in her four previous matches.

The final was expected to be a different challenge – the two players had met seven times previously, with Rybakina losing five of those.

But the Kazakh outshone the Belarusian in all aspects, serving beautifully and hitting her groundstrokes with power and depth.

Rybakina admitted she was surprised at her form after being sick in the lead-up and unable to practise before the tournament because of rain.

“Also the first few days here it was really tough with the jet lag and everything,” she said.

“I’m just pleased with the way I started the tournament because I was not feeling the greatest physically after the illness and everything.”

World No. 2 Sabalenka also had an impressive run to the final, but she appeared out of sorts and made a host of unforced errors.

She finally got on the board when she surprisingly broke Rybakina’s serve at 0-2 in the second set, but dropped her next serve and there was no way back.

Sabalenka saw the humorous side during the presentations, laughingly blaming her own team for the loss.

“Congratulations to my team. 6-0, 6-3. That’s all your fault, guys. Of course, we should have finished this week differently but I think we showed some great tennis,” she said.

“Hopefully we’ll do better at the Australian Open.”

In the men’s draw, Dimitrov claimed his second title in Brisbane, and his ninth overall, with a 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 win over Denmark’s world No. 8 Rune.

The Bulgarian was once touted as the player most likely to break the stranglehold that Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray had at the top of the men’s game.

But after winning four titles in 2017, including Brisbane and the ATP Finals, he never reached the heights expected of him and Jan 7 saw a welcome return to the winner’s circle.

In a tight contest between two evenly matched players, Dimitrov took the few chances he had to win a tight tiebreak, and then broke Rune at 3-3 in the second set.

The 32-year-old held on to clinch a high-quality final, winning the match with a backhand volley.

Said Dimitrov: “It’s been a while since I held one of these, it’s a bit emotional. My love affair started here many years ago in Brisbane and it continues. I’m very thankful to lift the trophy again.

“I’m fairly tired and I’ll take a few days off but I’m really happy to be in Australia. I’ll keep on going and yeah, onto the next one.”

Rune said: “It’s a great start to the year and we have a lot to build on. Hopefully we can go one step further at the Australian Open.” AFP, REUTERS