When Sabalenka won in Melbourne last year, remodelling her serve to avoid the double faults which had plagued her – and working with a psychologist – were key factors behind the success.
The 25-year-old Belarusian continued to develop over the rest of the 2023 season, becoming the most consistent women’s player at the Grand Slams.
Sabalenka went on to reach at least the semi-finals at the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open, losing in the final of the latter to American teenager Coco Gauff after winning the first set.
Returning to Melbourne, the experience of already having won added an extra layer of belief she could do it again.
Sabalenka dropped just 16 games on her way to the semi-finals – where she then exacted revenge on Gauff in straight sets – before turning her attention to Zheng.
Executing her aggressive approach to near perfection paid dividends.
Sabalenka broke at the first opportunity with a cracking backhand winner, saw off three break points in the next game and continued to force errors from her opponent as she moved towards a clinical victory.
The rare moment of uncertainty in a dominant performance by Sabalenka came when she was trying to close out victory and needed to save a rare break point before taking a fifth championship point.
She took this with a clean forehand crosscourt winner, turning to her team with both arms lifted towards the sky before blowing a kiss.