Victoria Azarenka signalled her intent to be a force in Wimbledon this year by taking down a dangerous opponent. Azarenka defeated 15th seed and former semi-finalist Elena Vesnina 6-3, 6-3 to move into the third round.
Azarenka had not expected to feature at Wimbledon this year after having given birth to her first child. However she had felt that her training had gone so well that she decided to move her comeback up to include Wimbledon.
Azarenka showed a good balance of attack and defence to break in the first set. The Belorussian faced just one break point in the first, which she saved.
Azarenka continued the momentum with an early break in the second. Vesnina continued to fight but could not engineer a break point. Vesnina fought hard to hold a long deuce game for 3-4, but then called for the trainer. She then appeared to have discussions over an hip injury. Vesnina tried to force a chance as Azarenka served in game eight, but missed a forehand at 40-30 and Azarenka held.
Vesnina tried to hold to make Azarenka serve for the match. The Russian double-faulted at deuce though to hand her opponent match point. A second sealed the match for Azarenka. It is the eighth time that Azarenka has beaten Vesnina in straight sets.
Azarenka could be an outside shout for the title, especially with the absence of Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova.
The win means that Azarenka will face another unseeded opponent in the third round. Britain’s Heather Watson defeated 18th seed Anastasija Sevastova 6-0, 6-4 to provide the opposition for Azarenka.
Another dangerous player, last year’s quarter-finalist Dominika Cibulkova is through to the third round. She defeated the United States’ Jennifer Brady 6-4, 6-4, for an easier win than her dramatic three-set victory over Germany’s Andrea Petkovic in the first round.
