Mumbai, Sept. 8 -- Aryna Sabalenka came to the US Open with a new look to her racquet. The usual dark green of the specific model she uses had been changed to a flame-themed one. It was to remind her that despite the tough losses at the majors this year, the fire still burned within. She tossed that racquet aside on the blue court of Arthur Ashe Stadium on Saturday night. Her weapon had served its purpose. She sank to the floor, face in hands, and wept. When she got up, she stood on court having extended her reign as the US Open champion. In front of a packed and partisan crowd that rooted for eighth-seeded American Amanda Anisimova, the world No.1 scored a hard-fought 6-3, 7-6(3) win in the women's singles final, wrapping up victory in just over 90 minutes. Along with her fourth Grand Slam title, Sabalenka also became the first women's singles player to defend the US Open crown since Serena Williams' hat-trick, from 2012 to 2014. The triumph also lifted a great weight off her shoulders. This season was the first time the 27-year-old from Belarus started the year as world No.1. But at the Australian Open, the two-time defending champion lost in the final to American Madison Keys. Once the clay swing began, Sabalenka's focus was to shake off the impression of being considered only a hard-court Grand Slam specialist. She did well to reach her first French Open final, but in an error-ridden match, lost to Coco Gauff. A month later, she reached the Wimbledon semi-final but was upset in three sets by Anisimova. The defeats piled on the pressure. What she had learnt from those losses showed in the slightly different approach she adopted at the start of the match on Saturday. In what was touted as a battle between two hard-hitting baseliners, the top seed came out holding back the pace. Her average groundstroke speeds throughout the tournament had been in the mid-70mph range. But in the first set on Saturday, Sabalenka dropped her shot speeds to an average of 68 mph on the forehand side and 69 mph on the backhand. This was a remarkable adjustment for a compulsive power-hitter. Slowing down saw her hit only three winners in the first set to Anisimova's 13. But what Sabalenka sacrificed in power, she made up in accuracy, conceding only four unforced errors in that set to an unsettled Anisimova's 15. "I knew what to expect. (Anisimova) is an aggressive player," Sabalenka said in the post-final media conference, with the celebratory bottle of champagne with her. "Going into this match, I knew it would be a very fast game, very aggressive. I was just trying to stay as low as possible, and put that speed and pressure back on her." The second set though became more a battle of attrition. Both players clobbered the ball, especially the return of serve, catching the opponent off balance. The Belarusian was ready to defend with everything she had. Anisimova wouldn't go away, though. The American, who had a 6-3 head-to-head record over Sabalenka going into the final, returned aggressively as the defending champion served for the title. She earned the break to level the scores at 5-5. Anisimova had overcome her Wimbledon final loss to get to another title clash. But could the 24-year-old turn things around? That's when Sabalenka decided to reset. "When she broke me in the first and second sets, those were the moments where I was really close to (losing) control," she said. "But at that moment I told myself, 'no, it's not going to happen'. That's what you expect in the final, that the player will fight back and do her best to win. I was just trying to focus on one step at a time." Both served out their games quickly to take the set into the tiebreak. That's where Sabalenka proved to be a different beast. For all the errors and inconsistencies that had surfaced at the business end this season, she has truly thrived in tiebreaks. Sabalenka, after all, enjoyed a stunning 20-1 record in tiebreaks this season going into the match, 18 of them won on the trot. If she was holding back earlier in the match, Sabalenka pulled out all stops in the tiebreak. She hit powerfully and raced to a 6-1 lead. And on her third championship point, the first on her serve, she drew a service winner. Despite almost everyone in the stands rooting for the American, who was born in a town roughly 75 miles from the Billie Jean King Tennis Center, Sabalenka remained calm throughout the match. She had learnt to keep her emotions in check. In an emotionally draining year for her on the Grand Slam circuit, the hard-court specialist had managed to turn her fortunes around on her favourite surface. "All those tough lessons," she said during the trophy ceremony, "were worth (it) for this (win)." Rousing the inner fire had left the rival singed this time....