Dominant Sabalenka crushes Zheng to defend Australian Open title

MELBOURNE, Australia -- An authoritative Aryna Sabalenka blew China's Zheng Qinwen off court on Saturday to successfully defend her Australian Open title -- the first woman to do so in more than a decade.

The Belarusian world number two proved too powerful for the 12th seed with a 6-3, 6-2 drubbing in 76 minutes to claim her second Grand Slam crown on Rod Laver Arena.

It capped an incredible display of power and poise from Sabalenka over the past fortnight, with the 25-year-old surging to the title without losing a set through her seven matches.

The last time the tournament witnessed a successful women's title defence was in 2013, when fellow Belarusian Victoria Azarenka achieved the feat.

With her latest exploits, Sabalenka cemented her reputation as one of the game's most consistent contenders at Grand Slams, reaching at least the semi-finals in her past six majors, making three finals and winning twice.

"It's been an amazing couple of weeks. I couldn't imagine myself lifting this trophy one more time and it's an unbelievable feeling right now. I'm really speechless," she said.

Sabalenka also had words of encouragement for Zheng.

"I know this feeling -- it is tough to lose in a final but you are such an incredible player, such a young girl. You are going to be in many more finals and you are going to get it," she said.

In vivid red, she overwhelmed Zheng with her crushing groundstrokes deep into both corners and a consistently reliable serve.

Zheng had reached her first Grand Slam final without meeting a seed after a host of players crashed out early on her side of the draw, and the gulf in class was exposed.

- Amazing memory -
"It's my first final and I'm feeling a little bit of pity," said Zheng. "I feel very complicated because I feel like I could've done it better.

"But I really enjoyed playing in this Australian Open, it's an amazing memory for me. I'm sure there is going to be more and better in the future."

The Belarusian opened with a comfortable serve then got a look at two break points at 15-40 in Zheng's opening service game when the Chinese star sprayed a backhand wide.

She seized the chance, attacking her opponent's second serve for the break.

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