Where she would have once got "crazy", Aryna Sabalenka smiled and showed why she'll demand top billing in the hunt for a third-straight Australian Open to clinch a comeback Brisbane International title.

The world No.1 was under fire from hard-hitting qualifier Polina Kudermetova at Pat Rafter Arena on Sunday but quickly turned the tables to prevail 4-6 6-3 6-2 in 106 minutes.

Insisting all week she'd returned to the country a more rounded player than she was a year earlier, the Belarusian favourite showed why in a prelude to the year's first grand slam that served as a warning to her rivals.

Kudermetova came from an early break down to steal the first set, then had a break point to move clear in the second.

Another rifled winner skipped off the line and brought a clean miss from Sabalenka, who paused and smiled before turning the tables on the 21-year-old in her first WTA 500 final.

"(It) didn't bounce. I was like, 'Whatever'. We just moved to the next one," the 26-year-old said of that unfortunate air swing.

"What can you do? Probably before, I would get crazy. Now you can just only laugh on this situation."

She'd won just 65 per cent of points on her first serve in the first set and hit seven winners to go with 12 unforced errors.

But she problem solved quickly, improving to 92 per cent in the second and making just two unforced errors to arrest control.

"She just couldn't handle her emotions in the middle of the second set," Sabelenka said.

"There (was) where I step in and kind of, like, showed the level. I'm really glad that I was able to do that and didn't let the game go the way it was going and I was able to turn around things."

Russia's Kudermetova will rise 50 places from 107 to 57 in the world after her dream run from qualifying.

"First time playing against a world No.1 so I think I was playing not bad with you," she said on court.

"This tournament was amazing, thank you."

Sabalenka, who has been attempting to add some subtlety to her power game, was booked to fly straight to Melbourne on Sunday night and "chill" before preparations begin at Melbourne Park.

There, attention will inevitably focus on a potential meeting with rival and former No.1 Iga Swiatek.

"I love the way we push each other," three-time grand slam winner Sabalenka said of Swiatek, who boasts five.

"It's not like I'm thinking about her, about her amount of grand slams. I'm just trying to push myself to the limit and see how far I can get.

"At the end of my career I want to look back and be proud of myself."