Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 12, 2024 Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka during press conference ahead of the Australian Open REUTERS/Edgar Su/ File photo
MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Aryna Sabalenka's Australian Open preparations hit a speed bump with her defeat in Sunday's Brisbane International final but the Belarusian has already put that loss in her rearview mirror and cannot wait to launch her Melbourne Park title defence.
The world number two, who also reached the U.S. Open final and the semi-finals at the French Open and Wimbledon in 2023, arrived in Australia in great shape and stormed to the final of the warm-up event in Brisbane with four straight-sets wins.
But her 15-match winning streak in Australia came to an end with her 6-0 6-3 defeat by familiar foe Elena Rybakina, her opponent in last year's Australian Open final.
Despite that blip, Sabalenka told reporters on Friday she was feeling great and "super happy to be back" in Melbourne.
"I had an incredible season last year, improved a lot as a player and as a person," she added. "I did really a great pre-season. We worked a lot. I felt like we improved a lot. I feel really great and feel like I'm ready to go."
Sabalenka offered little resistance in Sunday's Brisbane final, though made the scoreline a little more respectable by winning three games in the second set against Rybakina.
The 25-year-old opted to look at the positives from her defeat, saying it highlighted some kinks in her game she needed to iron out before the Australian Open begins on Sunday.
"I mean, the (Brisbane) final, Elena just played incredible tennis. She just crushed it. I tried to do my best, and I'm just thankful for those three games," Sabalenka said.
"Before the finals, I think I played really great tennis. Everything worked on the pre-season. Everything worked on match. That's what we are happy with. Even though the finals didn't go well, we still have another week."
Sabalenka is set to take on a qualifier or lucky loser in her first-round match at Melbourne Park, with a potential quarter-final clash against three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur on the cards.
The first Grand Slam of the year runs from Jan. 14-28.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Nashik, India; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
