Aryna Sabalenka had many reasons to believe history could have been grimly repeating itself on Saturday afternoon. Despite starting her Miami Open final against Coco Gauff striking the ball with clear-minded aggression, the complexion of the match rapidly changed. Suddenly, having been pulled into a tense final set, the world No 1 was struggling to hold on.
Similar scenarios played out in her two most important matches against Gauff, and both times Sabalenka had crumbled under the pressure in the deciding set. For all her imperfections, though, the Belarusian’s career has been defined by her desperation to improve. Here, she underlined her status as the best player in the world by finding composure and edging out Gauff 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 in a quality battle to win the Miami title for a second year in a row.
