The 'Achilles heel' that cost Aryna Sabalenka on the biggest stage

Aryna Sabalenka looked ready to claim her third Australian Open title, as she led 3-0 in the third set against Elena Rybakina.

But from there, everything went wrong. Rybakina would win five consecutive games, breaking the world No.1 twice, and snatching the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup.

Former Australian tennis star Jelena Dokic believes Rybakina's comeback summed up the difference between the two players and Sabalenka's biggest weakness.

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And that simply comes down to composure.

Rybakina, who Dokic described as the "ice queen", barely cracked a smile upon winning the Australian Open.

And in the big moments, that coolness and ability to execute proved the difference, against her fiery opponent.

"The biggest takeaway I think that I get from this match and when you watch (Sabalenka) is the emotional part of it," Dokic told Nine.

"We've talked about Sabalenka, how much she's improved that, but I said going into the final that that's still a bit of an Achilles heel at times that will be tested if the match is close in finals of Grand Slams.

"It was tested today. I think Sabalenka was distressed. I think she was tense. She felt the pressure of having to be the favourite and again, I think she's going to have to go back to the drawing board and say, 'how do I stay a little bit more emotionally composed'?

"I think if you look at the two players and if you look at their body language, I think Sabalenka has made a massive improvement in that.

"We know that since Roland Garros last year, when she lost the final against Gauff, that she kind of felt like she really should have won, and she self-destructed.

"But you still see these moments, and these finals come down to two or three points. What this does, though, it puts her into a negative mindset, whereas Rybakina didn't have to deal with that from her perspective tonight, and it allowed her to get back in the match.

"Sabalenka has made a massive improvement in that emotional composure.

"I thought the US Open was a great example of that, but if you have to pick little things, this is the one you're going to find moments like this and many of them from Sabalenka, where she was a little bit negative, I think that made the difference tonight."

Sabalenka is now four wins and four losses in grand slam finals. Two of those coming in the most recent Australian Opens.

Speaking after the match, the Belarusian star felt the battle for composure swung back and forth across the second and third sets.

"I think it was (back and forth)," she told reporters.

"She lost her focus and it was 3-0. I lost my focus and it was 3-4.

"(Rybakina) did a better job in keeping (composure) in the pressure moments, that's for sure."

Walking into the press conference, Sabalenka was full of smiles, but they were clearly masking a deeper frustration.

"I was really upset with myself, I would say," Sabalenka told reporters.

"Once again I had opportunities. I played great until that point, but I couldn't resist the aggression she had on court. I was really upset with myself.

"Overall, I played great tennis here in Australia, even in this final, I played great, I fought, I did my best [but] today, she was the better player."

Despite the loss, Sabalenka remains the clear No.1 ranked women's player in the world, while Rybakina jumps up to third.