Azarenka advances to quarterfinals for the fourth consecutive year - UBITENNIS

Azarenka advances to quarterfinals for the fourth consecutive year

By Lorenzo Dicandia
4 Min Read

Azarenka confirms her dark-horse status, defeating Varvara Lepchenko 63 64 and getting to the quarterfinals having dropped only one set.

Vika Azarenka has a special relationship with the US Open. It is there that she has reached two consecutive slam finals, pushing in both cases Serena Williams to her limits. In those two years, 2012 and 2013, Azarenka emerged as Williams main rival, defeating her twice on hard courts and producing a great effort in almost all of their matches. She won half of the hard court Slams played in those seasons, reaching the final in the other two, on top of holding the number one spot till February of 2013.
Since then things have not headed in the right direction for the Belarusian, who was heavily affected in her performances by a foot injury that even prevented her from playing at the French Open last year. She’s also been through some hard times in her personal life: after her breakup with the American rapper and producer Redfoo, Azarenka admitted to have even felt depressed at some point, finding some relief only in painting. She ended last season ranked 32 and has therefore been forced to face the likes of Williams and Sharapova early in the draw, making her comeback to the top 20 harder than it should have been.
In her last round she had to battle to come through Angie Kerber in three tight sets, in what has been defined by the press as the match of the tournament so far. Today’s match against Varvara Lepchenko, however, presented some dangers, as the American is a tricky opponent for many players thanks to her lefty shots that allow her to play trajectories that are difficult to attack.
In the first set Azarenka took an early break to go up 3-1, breaking again her opponent to close out the set six games to three. Vika played a pretty solid tennis, losing only six points off her serve and hitting nine winners to five unforced errors. The second set was a little more fought. The two players exchanged breaks at the beginning and then held their serves till the eight game, when Azarenka broke Lepchenko on her second chance to do so, allowing herself to serve for the match at 5-3. That was not it, however, as the Belarusian was not able to capitalize the opportunity, handing back the break under the pressure coming from the deep, consistent groundstrokes of Lepchenko. Still, it was just a matter of minutes before the match was over: Azarenka refocused and closed out the match on her first match point after 1 hour and 38 minutes. She’s now in the quarterfinals of the Open for her fourth year in a row, and will play on Wednesday against the winner of today’s second match on Armstrong Stadium, Lisicki vs. Halep.
Azarenka looks confident about her game and she is playing at a high, sustained level throughout her matches. Can she be the one to prevent the Grand Slam to Serena?

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