Two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka believes she can challenge for grand slam titles in the future following her third round loss at the US Open.
The former world No.1 went out in straight sets to third seed Sloane Stephens. Losing the match 6-3, 6-4, after one hour and 48 minutes of action at the Arthur Ashe stadium. Azarenka’s head-to-head record against the American now stands at 3-3 with Stephens winning their three most recent meetings on the tour.
“It was just a matter of a few points and those points that I still don’t do enough and they cost me the match.” Azarenka said during her press conference.
“I played against No. 3 player in the world with all the chances in the world. That’s a positive.”
This year is the Belarusian’s first appearance in Flushing Meadows since 2015. She missed the 2016 tournament due to pregnancy and was absent last year due to a custody battle with her former partner. The 29-year-old is yet to win a title since becoming a mother. Achieving a win-loss record of 13-11 so far this season.
Whilst Azarenka has experienced some fairly average results on the tour this season, the world No.79 is confident to returning back to her best. Illustrated by her run to the semifinals of the Miami Open earlier this year.
“Trust me, I wouldn’t be sitting here if I didn’t believe that.” She said.
“I would be home doing a bunch of different things and being successful at those things, but I want to do this.”
So far in her career, Azarenka has featured in 36 finals on the WTA Tour. Out of those, she has claimed 20 titles, including two grand slams and nine Premier events. She is also a former world No.1 player.
Besides her upbeat outlook on the future, Azarenka has also questioned the roof policy at the US Open. During the second set of her match against Stephens, she managed to turn a 1-3 deficit into a 4-3 advantage. Azarenka’s momentum was then halted when rain drops started to fall. Triggering the roof to be closed and a delay to occur.
“I just think from the tournament side, if they are expecting showers, I think it might be better to just close the roof right from the beginning. I think it would just be smarter.” She explained.
“Hopefully they will do it in the future, but, I’m not going to be sitting here finding any excuses.”
When the match resumed, Stephens went on to secure a double break on route to victory. Setting up a fourth round showdown with Elise Mertens.
