World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka began her Australian Open title defense by defeating Sloane Stephens 6-3 6-2 in the first round on Sunday.
The Belarusian, who is seeking to become the first woman since 1999 to win three consecutive Australian Open titles, easily dispatched her American opponent before celebrating with a dance during her on-court interview afterwards. Inspired by Sabalenka’s tradition of posting dances on TikTok at the Australian Open, interviewer Jelena Dokic encouraged the three-time grand slam champion to lead the crowd in a dance.
The first three games took just seven minutes and it seemed as if Sabalenka would quickly wrap up the match. But Stephens stepped up, showing glimpses of the qualities which made her a US Open champion, and unleashed a crosscourt forehand winner to bring up her own break point. She converted that to gain a foothold in the set, held serve, and then broke Sabalenka again to make it 4-3.
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