BRISBANE (Agencies): Elena Rybakina handed Aryna Sabalenka a harsh reality check on Sunday ahead of her Australian Open title defence with a crushing 6-0 6-3 victory in the final of the Brisbane International.
The men’s final that followed on Pat Rafter Arena was a much tighter contest with former world number three Grigor Dimitrov claiming his first ATP title in more than six years with a 7-6(5) 6-4 victory over Danish young gun Holger Rune.
World number two Sabalenka came into the women’s final, a rematch of last year’s Melbourne title-decider, on a 15-match winning streak in Australia but was completely outplayed by former Wimbledon champion Rybakina.
The relentless Kazakh wrapped up the first set in 24 minutes on the back of three breaks of serve as Sabalenka, shaking her head at herself in disbelief, sprayed 12 unforced errors across the Queensland Tennis Centre showcourt.
Rybakina broke Sabalenka again to start the second set and, although there was more fight from the other side of the net, sealed her sixth career title when the Belarussian crashed another forehand wide.
Russia’s Andrey Rublev began his season by winning the Hong Kong Open where he beat Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori 6-4 6-4 in the final to claim his 15th Tour-level title. The year’s first Grand Slam begins next Sunday and runs to Jan. 28.
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