WORLD number one Aryna Sabalenka has withstood a challenge from young Russian qualifier Polina Kudermetova to win yet another title on Australian hard courts. Going down a set, the Belarusian regained control in the second, and then steered home a 3-6 6-3 6-2 victory for her 18th career WTA Tour title.

Sabalenka has now won four of her past five Australian events, with the outlier being a rare loss to Elena Rybakina in last year’s Brisbane International. She will now prepare for an assault on a three-peat of Australian Open titles at Melbourne Park with a week off to recover for the fortnight-long event.

Against Kudermetova, Sabalenka was made to work for it early, broken twice in the opening set at the 21-year-old qualifier showed no fear, giving as good as she got with five aces and winning 78 per cent of her first serve break points. Sabalenka looked a little on the back foot which is rare for a player of her power, and after being broken a second time, went down in the opening set 6-4.

However as all champions do, Sabalenka ramped up the pressure in the second set as Kudermetova’s inconsistent serve went to water. The Russian still put down twice as many aces (4-2) but only went at a 43 per cent clip, while Sabalenka lost just five points on serve and saved the only break point she faced.

That momentum continued into the third set, as the world number one broke her opponent early and raced away to an early lead. She held her inexperienced opponent at arms-length and closed out the match in an hour and 48 minutes.

“I definitely feel my game pretty well,” Sabalenka said post-match. “Mentally, physically I’ll be ready to go at the Australian Open. Really happy with the way the week went. Having this trophy going to the major, it’s really important.”

Sabalenka was on top early in the match with a break, but Kudermetova broke back to level at 3-3, and then broke in the 10th game to secure the opening set. The Belarusian admitted she was playing too “conservatively”.

“I had a break in the first set,” Sabalenka said. “I was trying to play too conservative, I would say. I wasn’t following the plan. That was the moment where everything clicked for her and she was, like, smashing the ball. Seems like everything is going in. I was like, I cannot do much in this situation.”

“In that second set, I just put her under a little pressure,” Sabalenka said. “I saw the way she was reacting, the way she was playing. She was rushing things a lot. I was like, I’m just going to stay aggressive, keep pushing, keep swinging the ball, and hopefully I’ll be able to turn around this game.”

Kudermetova might have fallen short of her maiden WTA Tour title, but the previously ranked 107th Russian is now just outside the world’s Top 50. Unfortunately unlike Sabalenka, due to the rankings being locked in for the Australian Open prior to Brisbane, Kudermetova now must make her way through qualifying at Melbourne Park to achieve a main draw spot.

Czech Jiri Lehecka also came away with a Brisbane International title, after the world number 28 had a relatively easy day out. Unfortunately his opponent, American Reilly Opelka had to retire just five games into the first set with a back injury.

Having had injury issues plaguing his career, Opelka struggled to move once his back had been impacted and apologised to the fans given he had hoped to play out the match.

“Thank you and sorry at the same time,” Opelka said. “It was a great week for me. I got a lot of great matches in. I have been looking forward to playing Jiri. When he had his breakthrough on Tour I was injured, so was looking forward to a great match. He is a hell of a player.

“Unfortunately, my back has been giving me issues. The tournament doctor and ATP physio were unbelievable at throwing the kitchen sink at it. We worked on it all day but it wasn’t right enough to compete.”

Lehecka has now won both of his ATP Tour titles in Australia, with Adelaide last year and Brisbane this year. While having an uneasy feeling about the win given the circumstances, he was pleased with the way he played throughout the match.

“It is never easy to finish a match this way, I know how you feel Reilly,” Lehecka said. “It has been an honour to see you back playing and if your body can take it you will be there for many more years.

“It was a great week for me in Brisbane. I just love to play here in Australia. I want to thank everyone for coming to watch and my team.”