Victoria Azarenka rarely displayed her top form but eventually found enough weapons to see off Kateryna Bondarenko in the first round in San Jose on Monday night, setting up an intriguing second round clash with top seed Garbiñe Muguruza.
Despite launching a stirring comeback from 5-2 down in the second set, Azarenka could not close out the Ukrainian and instead needed two hours and 42 minutes to secure her 6-3, 6-7, 7-5 victory. The former world No. 1 double faulted a dozen times and topped 50 unforced errors, but she forced 16 break points and managed to hold each of her last five service games.
“I think I should have probably played a little better in the end of the second set,” Azarenka said on-court. “She got a lot of balls back in and played aggressive on the important points, and I didn’t. So here we are.”
Azarenka appeared to have the match in control on multiple occasions. She raced to a 4-0 lead, signaling a fourth consecutive blowout win over the world No. 79. A set later, Azarenka recovered from a bout of tenseness — including several double faults — to race back from 5-2 down. But she couldn’t convert two match points on Bondarenko’s serve and another in the tiebreak; the Ukrainian slammed a forehand into the open court on her third set point to close out the 67 minute set.
But Azarenka recovered from an early service loss in the deciding frame, snatching a Bondarenko service game at 5-5 and seeing out the match on her second opportunity. It made her the most notable winner on the West Coast on Monday; seeded players, including Serena Williams, begin their campaigns on Tuesday.
A pair of young Americans, Sofia Kenin and Danielle Collins, won their opening round matches in straight sets, as did rising Australian Ajla Tomljanovic.
Across the country in Washington, Katie Boulter shocked No. 5 seed Aleksandra Krunic 6-2, 6-0, hitting the Serbian off the court despite putting just 49 percent of first serves in play. The Brit blunted nearly every Krunic serve, winning 58 percent of return points.
Two-time grand slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova also advanced. Top seeds Caroline Wozniacki and Sloane Stephens — the last two hard court grand slam winners — begin play Tuesday.
