NEW YORK, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- Second seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan clinched her first US Open women's singles title on Saturday, defeating top seed Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 in the final.
Sabalenka had won 10 of their previous 17 meetings, but Rybakina prevailed in their most recent Grand Slam encounter, winning this year's Australian Open final. The Flushing Meadows final also marked the first time since 2013 that the top two seeds had met in the US Open women's singles final.
Both players held serve through the first four games of the opening set. Rybakina raised the pressure on Sabalenka's serve in the fifth game and eventually closed out the set 6-4 when Sabalenka sent a backhand down the line long.
Sabalenka, who has won all four of her Grand Slam titles on hard courts, including two at the Australian Open and two at the US Open, fought hard to convert her third set point and level the match with a 7-5 second-set victory.
Rybakina regrouped in the decider and broke Sabalenka in the third and seventh games to seal a hard-fought victory in two hours and 21 minutes. The win also marked the 27-year-old's third Grand Slam title.
"I don't expect nothing like this coming to this tournament. I've been dealing with a little bit with an injury, but somehow everything aligned together on my side," said Rybakina, who has secured the world No. 1 ranking for the first time after beating China's Zheng Qinwen in Wednesday's quarterfinals, ending Sabalenka's 99-week run at the top. Enditem
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