World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka could not hide her disappointment after she narrowly missed out on a third straight Australian Open title on Saturday.
Sabalenka was bidding to become just the sixth woman – and the first since Martina Hingis in 1999 – to win the Australian Open title in three consecutive years, but was edged out 6-3 2-6 7-5 by American Madison Keys in a brilliant final.
“I think when you get to the point of finals, it's trophy or nothing,” she said. “Nobody remembers the finalist, you know? Nobody put, like, next to the winner (the) finalist name.
“At this point, yeah, I go for titles. Of course, I have to be anyway proud of myself with the finals, three finals in a row. That's something crazy. I hope that next year I'll come back as a better player, and I'll hold Daphne (the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup) one more time.”
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Sabalenka’s frustration was clear for everyone to see at the end of the match as she shook Keys’ hand before smashing her racquet by the side of the court, and then left the arena to compose herself before the trophy presentation.
“There definitely was a bit of frustration because I was so close to achieve something crazy,” she said.
“When you're out there, you're fighting, but it seems like everything going not the way you really want to go.
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“I just needed to throw those negative emotions at the end just so I could give a speech, not stand there being disrespectful. I was just trying to let it go and be a good person, be respectful.
“It's OK. I mean, I'm the one who knows that after tough losses, there is good wins. So I'll keep working and make sure that next time, if I'll be in this situation, I'll play definitely better.”
Usually the aggressor on the court, Sabalenka admitted that Keys had taken control of the match with her powerful hitting.
The American hit 29 winners, 15 of them on her forehand, including two on the last two points as she clinched her first Grand Slam title.
“If she can play consistently like that, I mean, it's not much you can do,” Sabalenka said. “Of course, I know how to play against her, but in this match I couldn't really do my stuff.
“She just played incredible. It seems like she was (hitting) everything (perfectly). The depths of the balls were really crazy. I was trying my best. Obviously didn't work well.
“Maybe I could start a little bit better. It seems like my legs was off at the beginning of the match. I was on the back foot all the time. I didn't serve my best at all.
“Tactically I'd say I didn't play my best, as well, at the beginning of the match. If I could change anything, I would try to start a little bit better with the movement. Maybe be a little bit more aggressive and not try to just play too passive, you know, and play my game no matter what.”
Despite the loss, Sabalenka said she was “super-proud” to have such a good record at Melbourne Park.
“That I was able to achieve that many wins in a row at one Grand Slam, that's crazy. That's already something,” she said.
“When someone else going to achieve the same, they're going to say the last player who was able to achieve, they're going to say my name. It's already something big.
“I'm just trying to stay positive right now, find something good, but that's crazy. I couldn't even dream, couldn't even think about that, like, few years ago that I'd be able to win that many matches in a row at one Slam.”