Brisbane: Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan and Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria have clinched the Brisbane International Tennis Tournament title in the women’s and men’s category respectively.
Elena Rybakina handed Aryna Sabalenka a harsh reality check on Sunday ahead of her Australian Open title defense with a crushing 6-0 6-3 victory in the final of the Brisbane International.
The final was expected to be a different challenge — the two players had met seven times previously with all but two of those matches going to three tough sets, including last year’s Australian Open final.
But Rybakina soon put those expectations to bed with a blistering start, racing through the first set in 24 minutes, only dropping three points on serve.
“Despite the score it’s always tough to play against Aryna,” Rybakina said. “We always push each other, which is great, and we improve this way so hopefully we can continue.”
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.
Dimitrov served out to love, however, claiming the ninth title of his career, and a first since he won the ATP Tour finals in London back in November 2017, with a beautifully judged backhand at the net.
“It’s been a while since I held one of these,” an emotional Dimitrov said after receiving the trophy for the second time after his 2017 Brisbane triumph.
