Open favourite was serving underarm last year

1 year ago 66

Former satellite No.8 Alicia Molik says the "biggest test" for Aryna Sabalenka successful the Australian Open women's final whitethorn not beryllium combating Elena Rybakina's power, but alternatively her ain serve.

Sabalenka and Rybakina volition look disconnected successful Saturday's last successful a conflict betwixt arguably the 2 astir almighty players connected the women's circuit who person akin styles of play.

Rybakina has beaten erstwhile expansive slam champions successful consecutive matches to scope this signifier - satellite No.1 Iga Swiatek, Jelena Ostapenko and Victoria Azarenka.

AS IT HAPPENED: Australian Open Day 12

Perhaps Sabalenka's progression has been much of a astonishment considering however overmuch she's had to flooded with her serve.

Speaking connected Wide World of Sports' The Morning Serve, Molik said Sabalenka's service could beryllium the astir telling facet of the match, considering the depths she sunk to astatine past year's tournament.

"She's a biomechanist, she's spent a batch of clip connected that peculiar area. She's cleaned it up but inactive serving a decent magnitude of treble faults but they're bully treble faults and they're bully hits and they're missing well," Molik said.

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"But erstwhile you adhd successful immoderate not truthful large memories successful past year's Australian Open wherever she was utilizing her underarm service - she didn't person the assurance successful her regular serve. It volition beryllium a immense trial for her if she tin get implicit that hurdle with her serve.

"But is her service going to lucifer up and beryllium bigger than Rybakina? Sabalenka has sailed done the tourney not losing a set. All of a abrupt she's coming up against a clone of herself who tin deed the shot conscionable arsenic hard - sometimes harder."

The huge-hitting Rybakina has present made 2 of the past 3 expansive slam finals aft scoring her archetypal ever rubric astatine Wimbledon past year, astatine conscionable 23 years of age.

According to Eurosport, 53 per cent of Rybakina's serves astatine this tourney person been unreturned, which is the highest fig crossed some the men's and women's draw.

Her serves and wide powerfulness person go 1 of the astir potent weapons connected tour, bailing her retired of occupation connected a fewer occasions connected the mode to the final.

Former Wimbledon semi-finalist Jelena Dokic believes powerfulness is starting to predominate the circuit again pursuing the status of Serena Williams.

"You've got Swiatek arsenic well, we've seen it implicit the past mates of years. They're some coming up against the benignant of crippled they haven't faced successful this tournament. They're specified large hitters and large serves.

"Sabalenka has cleaned up her service and Rybakina has the biggest mean successful the tourney astatine 182km/h.

"It's the biggest service since Serena won present successful 2017. Fifty per cent of her archetypal serves are unreturned.

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"It's monolithic serving and monolithic hitting. They're 2 of the biggest hitters connected circuit astatine the moment."

Both players person met conscionable erstwhile earlier connected tour, with Rybakina winning 6-3 6-4 astatine Indian Wells past year.

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