Sabalenka beats Stephens to begin bid for 3rd Australian Open title

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Aryna Sabalenka began her bid to become the first woman in a quarter-century to win three consecutive Australian Open titles, eliminating 2017 U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens 6-3, 6-2 on Sunday night in just 71 minutes.

Sabalenka is seeded No. 1 at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time and while she was not perfect in this first-round match — "Not like I played my best, probably," she said — it was plenty good.

As big a server as there is in women's tennis, Sabalenka did not hit her first ace until the match's 15th game and finished with only two.

She won her first major championship at Melbourne Park in 2023, then added another last January, before raising her total to three Slam trophies at the U.S. Open in September.

The last woman to win the Australian Open three years in a row was Martina Hingis from 1997 to 1999.

"I am super happy to be back," Sabalenka said. "I love this place."

In the second round, Sabalenka will take on Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, who upset reigning champion Marketa Vondrousova at Wimbledon in 2024.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis