By Janina Nuno Rios
NEW YORK, Sept 12 (Reuters) – Aryna Sabalenka’s bid for a third straight U.S. Open title ended in a 6-4 5-7 6-2 defeat by Elena Rybakina on Saturday, with the Belarusian saying the pressure of chasing a hat-trick of titles in New York made it especially difficult to keep her emotions in check.
While Rybakina maintained her trademark composure through the tense final, Sabalenka twice let her frustration spill over, firing a ball into the crowd and later breaking her racket as the match slipped away.
“It’s really tough to control your emotions when you lose in the final of the Grand Slam and when you were trying to go for three-peat,” Sabalenka told reporters.
“I just wanted to let it go, because if I would hold it inside. I wouldn’t be able to say a word. I would just go not really nice over there.”
Rybakina’s composure proved a sharp contrast as she absorbed Sabalenka’s heavy hitting before stepping forward to dictate, eventually pulling away in the deciding set to win her third Grand Slam title and first at Flushing Meadows.
“She played really aggressive, great tennis. She was simply a better player today than me,” Sabalenka said of her opponent.
Rybakina had already dethroned her from the top of the rankings before the final, ending Sabalenka’s 99-week reign at world number one.
“Let’s see if Elena can beat me in that,” Sabalenka said with a laugh. “She continue to play like that, then yeah, I’m in trouble.”
Sabalenka also missed the chance to reward the crowd that had rallied behind her. Having faced an American opponent in each of her previous three U.S. Open finals, she at last found Arthur Ashe Stadium firmly behind her.
“I felt like, ‘Oh, my God, I feel American over there’,” she said. “I just wish I could win it and feel the support even more. Yeah, not this year.”
The defeat also ended Sabalenka’s 20-match winning streak at Flushing Meadows and denied her the chance to join Serena Williams and Chris Evert as the only women in the professional era to win three straight U.S. Open titles.
(Reporting by Janina Nuno Rios in New York; Editing by Kim Coghill)
