Elena Rybakina avenged her final loss at the Australian Open in January when she upset world number two Aryna Sabalenka to win the BNP Paribas Masters title in Indian Wells.
The Kazakh held her nerve to take the first set in 78 minutes before wrapping up a 7-6(11) 6-4 victory and her first title since her shock Wimbledon triumph last summer.
Rybakina also helped erase the memory of her defeat to Belarus in Melbourne, after taking the first set against her big-serving opponent.
Sabalenka entered the final looking set to take control when she grabbed her first break opportunity at 3-2, but her sporadic serving problems returned and a double fault sent her opponent back the break straight away.
With Sabalenka still struggling on serve, Rybakina, who beat world number one Iga Swiatek in the semi-finals, dominated in a 17-minute tiebreaker, eventually gaining the advantage on a sixth set point.
Rybakina built on her advantage by smashing Sabalenka to love in the first game of the second set, then breaking again to move to the cusp of a 5-2 victory.
Sabalenka suggested a final twist by dismissing Rybakina at her first serve opportunity in the match, but the Kazakh didn’t miss the second time to finish with the second biggest win of her career.
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