Azarenka Turns Up The Heat In Brisbane

Azarenka Turns Up The Heat In Brisbane

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

BRISBANE, Australia – Victoria Azarenka survived some tense moments early on but then absolutely powered through to the quarterfinals of the $1,000,000 Brisbane International on Wednesday.

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Facing unheralded lucky loser Ysaline Bonaventure, who replaced Simona Halep in the draw, Azarenka had some trouble early on – she dropped serve in the opening game and then, a few games later, had to battle for more than 16 minutes to break back, but she eventually did, evening it to 2-all.

From there the Belarusian ruthlessly powered past the Belgian, reeling off 10 of the next 13 games – and winning 12 of the last 13 points of the match – to prevail in an hour and 27 minutes, 6-3, 6-2.

“I think the beginning was definitely really tough,” Azarenka said after the match. “She played very well, and it’s also a little bit of a moment of adaptation when you don’t know who you’re playing. But I’m glad I could stay strong and turn it around at the beginning. It wasn’t going my way at first, for sure.

“Just to feel the momentum shift in the match was important, in the beginning of the year, and for me especially since I haven’t played in a while. It’s good to go through those moments. I’m happy the way I was looking for a solution, trying to stay in the moment, and fighting to take control back to me.”

Awaiting Azarenka in the quarters will be No.8 seed Roberta Vinci, who won through on Tuesday.

Azarenka has beaten Vinci in straight sets in all three of their previous meetings, but they haven’t played since 2012, and Vinci is on fire – she’s gone from No.43 to No.15 in the last four months.

“We’ve played quite a few times, but it’s been a while since we last played,” Azarenka said of the US Open finalist. “She’s still a very aggressive player. I think she has a lot to offer, and variety, and the slice is only one component of her game. It’ll be important to really just focus on my own game.”

Three more players snapped up quarterfinal berths at the Premier-level event during the day session, most notably No.4 seed Angelique Kerber, who cruised past Madison Brengle in 61 minutes, 6-3, 6-0.

Other winners were Andrea Petkovic, who edged fellow former Top 10 player Ekaterina Makarova, 7-5, 6-4, and American qualifier Samantha Crawford, who surprised No.7 seed Belinda Bencic, 7-5, 7-5.

Crawford – who hit 13 aces in the match – didn’t just score her first Top 20 win over the No.14-ranked Bencic, it was actually her first Top 50 win (she had never beaten anyone higher than No.59 before).

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