The roof of Center Court remained closed for the Australian Open women’s final as light rain fell at Melbourne Park, and Rod Laver Arena was transformed into a concert hall with tennis music. However, there was one noise that wasn’t quite right. During the sacred moment before each player’s serving action, the audience generally followed a protocol that called for silence. However, one bird perched high in the rafters was not very docile.

They probably remained there because they were unable to escape before the roof closed on Saturday afternoon. Tweet tweet. An unusual accompaniment to a Grand Slam final. A crowd of 15,000 people tilted their heads in curiosity, but despite long efforts, no one could see the creature. Even the umpire kept looking up, only to realize that even his broad powers had limits. Tweet tweet.

The quaint, sweet birdsong was just as soothing and familiar as the contest below. We feature two players at the top of the tennis world, Arina Sabalenka, world number one, and Elena Rybakina, who will soon be number three, no matter the result, two players who know each other very well. Their power games are well matched and sustained success often brings them together. They had more duels than anyone else on tour, 14 in total.

Chief among them was Sabalenka’s breakthrough final at Melbourne Park three years ago, one of several setbacks Rybakina has suffered in recent years, after giving up a one-set lead and becoming fodder for tour whispers.

But as the wildlife at Rod Laver Arena continued to chirp, the whispers died down. Kazakhshtani secured the first set and tested Sabalenka in a fierce second set. Around this time, a newly downloaded bird app identified the sound as coming from a bird. Mynah birdbut not the picky type.

However, the tide of the match quickly changed as Rybakina collapsed and conceded the second set to her opponent, failing to win any points on serve at 4-5 and forcing an early break in the third set. The 16-shot rally in that match was like an arm-wrestle, a microcosm of previous finals.

The pair went backhand to backhand until Rybakina bent. In the case of the loser, there was no anger or wild gestures in response, just a depressed looking woman who seemed to want to be somewhere else. By the way, the birds were also quiet.

The contrast with Sabalenka was shocking. In terms of apparel, the world No. 1 wore orange and pink with black and blue stitching and matching jewelry, while her opponent wore a functional off-white. Win or lose, Sabalenka reacted at the end of each point. I flicked my hand in disappointment and yelled, “Let’s go!” Or he pointed at his head, as if asking what he was thinking.

Her on-court performance and off-court charisma have won over her many fans, who cheered in the third set as she came close to winning the Australian Open for the third time. “Come on, Tiger, we got this,” one supporter yelled, pointing to the animal that is now an integral part of the brand Aryna.

By comparison, Rybakina had fewer supporters. Marika Batkuldina was probably the most vocal. The civil engineer and tennis fan held up a handmade sign that read “Lena’s Ace” scrawled in crayon and a crown marking Rybakina’s record as the tournament’s top server. Batkuldina flew to Australia last week to support the Kazakhstan team, led by Alexander Bublik and Rybakina, in preparation for the tournament.

They were both scouted by Russia as teenagers, but she saw no reason not to support them. “It doesn’t matter where she was born,” Batkuldina said, describing Rybakina as “gentle, introverted, not very sociable, not very sociable.” [an] extroverted, [or an] A person with a lot of emotions.”

As the third set reached its climax, the birds chirped again. It was almost drowned out by the noisy arena, amplified by all of Sabalenka’s fire and fury. But even at her climax, Rybakina remained quietly determined. She took center stage by storm, patiently breaking back against Sabalenka and ending the upset with minimal fuss.

She is the queen of hard courts, the best player in the world, and has broken the sport’s modern benchmark. Still, there was no explosion after the final point, and no dramatic collapse of the court. With a slight clenched fist and a nod to her team, she loudly marked victory.