Elena Rybakina handed Aryna Sabalenka a harsh reality check on Sunday ahead of her Australian Open title defence with a crushing 6-0, 6-3 victory in the final of the Brisbane International.
The men's final that followed on Pat Rafter Arena was a much tighter contest with former world No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov claiming his first ATP title in more than six years with a 7-6(5), 6-4 victory over Danish young gun Holger Rune.
World No. 2 Sabalenka came into the women's final, a rematch of last year's Melbourne title-decider, on a 15-match winning streak in Australia but was completely outplayed by former Wimbledon champion Rybakina.
Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria celebrates winning the match point in the final against Holger Rune on Sunday. Getty Images
The relentless Kazakh wrapped up the first set in 24 minutes on the back of three breaks of serve as Sabalenka, shaking her head at herself in disbelief, sprayed 12 unforced errors across the Queensland Tennis Centre showcourt.
Rybakina broke Sabalenka again to start the second set and, although there was more fight from the other side of the net, sealed her sixth career title when the Belarussian crashed another forehand wide.
Emotional Dimitrov
Dimitrov's experience and court craft won out over Rune's youthful athleticism in the men's final, an engrossing contest with plenty of high quality tennis that kept the crowd gripped for more than two hours.
"It's been a while since I held one of these," an emotional Dimitrov said after receiving the trophy for the second time after his 2017 Brisbane triumph. "I'm fairly tired but I'm really happy to be in Australia."
