Victoria Azarenka produced a spellbinding performance against tournament favourite Jessica Pegula to reach the Australian Open semi-finals.
The two-time champion down under prevailed 6-4 6-1 against her good friend who was outplayed throughout.
Azarenka said ‘it hurts to beat her because I always want her to do well but also at the same time I know I had to play my best tennis. She’s been playing amazing, very consistent and I knew from the first point I had to bring it.‘
‘I’m very proud that I executed my game plan very well. It’s so amazing to be in a semi-final of another Grand Slam.’
Azarenka got off to a flying start, imposing her aggressive style of tennis to lead 3-0. Pegula fought hard to stay in touch, and saved four set points before breaking back to trail 4-5.
The American failed to level at 5-5 as she hit a forehand long to gift Azarenka the opening set.
Pegula’s level dropped in the second set, as she lost serve three times before Azarenka served the match out for the win.
The former world number one said she put in a lot of work during the off-season to be in the best possible shape.
She added ‘I felt like especially last year my tennis wasn’t bad but I wasn’t mentally there to go out there. I played with a lot of fear and anxiety and it was difficult to be brave and make the right choices.’
‘I worked a lot on my mindset, challenging myself on things I wouldn’t really do before and trying to push myself forward because when you achieve great success sometimes you become conservative.’ ‘This off-season I was open-minded, trying new things, putting my head down and working hard.’
The Belarusian is the oldest player left in the women’s singles draw, and the last woman to defend the title in Melbourne after winning in 2012 and 2013
Azarenka will face Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina for a spot in Saturday’s final.
Pegula’s quarter-final record in Majors is now at 0-5, losing ten consecutive sets in those matches. The American is still in the women’s doubles with her partner and compatriot Coco Gauff.
