Tauson said to Eurosport that she was better from the baseline but during the decisive moments, Sabalenka showed her true class in the match in which the Belarusian finally prevailed through a scoreline of 7-6, 6-4.
"My baseline play was equal to and maybe even better than the world's best tennis player. I think that's pretty okay. But her returns and her second serve was better than mine today", said Tauson.
Tauson said she was surprised how the game unfolded as the two players struggled to hold serve throughout the first set. "It wasn't exactly how I expected it to be. The two of us are the world's best servers on the tour, and we couldn't hold serve at all during the start", said Tauson.
Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka said her struggles on serve in her gruelling win over Tauson in the third round of the Australian Open on Friday were down to gusty conditions that weakened one of her most powerful weapons.
The opener on Rod Laver Arena began with seven consecutive breaks of serve, with the Belarusian losing her fourth service game to love, raising concerns that the woes that once plagued her were threatening a return.
It was Sabalenka's worst start to a match since 2022 in San Diego, when her serve was broken four times in the opening set, but the 26-year-old said there was nothing to worry about.
"After a few games the balls became much heavier and it's hard to serve aggressive, powerful serves, so you just try to direct the serve somehow and start building the rallies," Sabalenka told reporters in Russian.
"Tauson received it very well and I did too and that's why it was such a rather unusual match. Thank God that I succeeded in managing the conditions."
Sabalenka will now face Mirra Andreeva in the fourth round of the tournament.