Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan holds the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup aloft after defeating Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus to win the women's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia. (A )

MELBOURNE, Jan 31 (Xinhua): World No. 5 Elena Rybakina outdueled top seed Aryna Sabalenka with astonishing power hitting to win her first Australian Open title in an engrossing three-set final on Saturday.

Under the closed roof at Rod Laver Arena, Kazakhstan's Rybakina overcame Belarusian Sabalenka 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in two hours and 18 minutes.

Rybakina sealed her second Grand Slam title with an ace and celebrated in low-key fashion with a fist pump.

She upset the favored Sabalenka with formidable firepower, strong serving, and resilience after having been 0-3 down in the deciding set.

The 2022 Wimbledon champion exacted revenge after she was left heartbroken in the 2023 final when Sabalenka came from behind in a three-set classic.

It was a bitter disappointment for Sabalenka, who had won 26 of her last 27 matches at Melbourne Park before this match.

The 27-year-old's only blemish in those four years was a shock three-set defeat to Madison Keys in last year's final, which ended her bid for a third straight Australian Open title.

Only Evonne Goolagong Cawley and Martina Hingis had previously reached at least four straight Australian Open finals in the professional era.

There was much anticipation over a mouthwatering final pitting players in prime form, with Sabalenka and Rybakina having not dropped a set en route to the final.

Fireworks were expected, and Sabalenka landed the first blow with a muscular forehand winner to make an early statement.