John McEnroe – Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina are ‘threats’ to Iga Swiatek after Australian Open final

John McEnroe has backed both Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina to be ‘threats’ to Iga Swiatek this year following their absorbing Australian Open final.

Her victory comes amid the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine which meant that she had to compete under a neutral flag rather than that of her native Belarus.

Sabalenka was also among the Russian and Belarusian players banned from last year’s Wimbledon tournament – incidentally won by Rybakina – as politics and sport made for uncomfortable bedfellows.

Speaking exclusively to Eurosport, McEnroe was delighted to see the 24-year-old put it all to one side to win the title in Melbourne.

“I’m really happy for her because obviously, mentally and emotionally, she’s been through a lot,” he said. “People wondered if she could handle that and I think at the end of the day she really stepped up.”

A nervy start saw Sabalenka make a series of errors as she dropped her first set over the course of a ten-match winning run leading up to the final.

However, she was able to power back in the second set before sealing victory in the third, on her fourth match point.

“At the end, you could argue that she was serving even better than Rybakina,” McEnroe added. “So she kept her nerve, even if you could feel that she was close to stumbling when she had to finish.

“That last game, you could just feel the tension and for most of the match too because she double faulted on the very first point of the match. And then on the next point, an ace.

“So for her, it was like a roller coaster but she stayed very positive generally and that says a lot.

“God bless her, she worked a lot on it. It was an exciting match, two big hitters, a lot of emotions and a great winner in the end. I think it’s great for women’s tennis that she won it.”

On what the future holds for both players, McEnroe envisions Sabalenka AND Rybakina remaining at the top of the women’s game in 2023, and making life difficult for world No. 1 Iga Swiatek.

“I think they’re both going to be real challengers now for Iga Swiatek and that’s a very good thing,” he said.

“They’ll obviously both have a lot of confidence for the rest of the season. I hope that the politics won’t disturb Sabalenka. You have to wonder what will happen in Wimbledon. So hopefully that’s not going to be an issue.

“As far as their tennis abilities, yes they can be a threat to Swiatek.

“Mentally, it looked like Swiatek was dealing with some issues in Australia. Whether it was the pressure or something off the court I don’t know, but she was not at her best. But I suspect on clay she’ll be back so she’ll probably go at the French Open as the big favourite.”

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