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INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – Victoria Azarenka continued her near-perfect start to 2016 by showing vintage form against an out of sorts World No.1 Serena Williams to win the BNP Paribas Open final, 6-4, 6-4, and return to the Top 10.

Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Indian Wells right here on wtatennis.com!

Playing in her first Indian Wells final since 2001, the top seed hadn’t dropped a set through her first five matches but struggled throughout the nearly 90-minute match, converting just one of 10 break point opportunities and striking 33 unforced errors.

Azarenka, by contrast, won 86% of her first serve points, and held off an impressive fightback from the 21-time Grand Slam champion – who won four games in a row with two chances to level the second set from 1-5 down – to win her second Indian Wells title, and first Premier Mandatory event since the 2012 China Open.

A gracious Serena fought back tears during her runner-up speech.

“It was really hard the last moment I had here wasn’t the greatest, so thank you so much,” she said, addressing the crowd.

“Thank you so much for the cheers; I can’t tell you how much it means to me. I can’t even begin to tell you!

“I’m just so happy to be able to stand here again.”

The Belarusian was equally effusive in her praise for Williams, against whom she has now won four of 21 total matches – becoming the only player to defeat the American in more than three championship matches.

“I wanted to first address a personal thank you to Serena. I know how emotional it was for you to be back here and you truly inspired so many people out there to see the type of committment you have to the game. It’s truly inspiring.

“Thank you for that from the bottom of my heart. You are an amazing competitor who changed the game.

“If it wasn’t for you and how hard you work and seeing you play so well, I wouldn’t be as motivated to come back and work so hard. Thank you on behalf of the sport.”

With Sunday’s win, Azarenka will return to the Top 10 for the first time since the summer of 2014, at No.8. Meanwhile, Serena remains atop the WTA rankings heading into the Miami Open, a tournament she has won eight times.

She does it! ?@Vika7 Azarenka captures @BNPParibasOpen crown & is heading back to the Top 10! #WTA https://t.co/bapdsRCuiu

— WTA (@WTA) March 20, 2016

Eight-time champion Serena Williams will open accounts at the Miami Open on Thursday, as the seeds on the top half of the draw play their first matches of the week. Here’s a preview of what to watch.

Thursday, Second Round

[1] Serena Williams (USA #1) vs. Christina McHale (USA #56)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Williams owns a 64-5 record at Miami.
Though she’s been in dazzling form in 2016, Serena Williams has yet to hold a trophy aloft this season. After dropping finals at the Australian Open (Kerber) and Indian Wells (Azarenka) Williams has now lost back-to-back finals for the first time since 2004. Will a return to the scene of so many breathtaking triumphs provide Williams with the inspiration to claim her fourth consecutive title (ninth overall) at Crandon Park? Williams will open against compatriot and Fed Cup teammate Christina McHale in second-round action on Thursday. The 23-year-old New Jersey native knocked off Japan’s Misaki Doi in first-round action on Wednesday.

Pick: Williams in two

[3] Agnieszka Radwanska (POL #2) vs. Alizé Cornet (FRA #42)
Head-to-head: Radwanska leads, 6-1
Key Stat: Radwanska is one of five former champions in the Miami draw, along with Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka, Venus Williams and Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Off the tour with a back injury for nearly two months, Alizé Cornet won her first tour-level match since the Australian Open on Wednesday when she defeated Galina Voskoboeva in straight sets. Before her injury, Cornet was making big strides against the WTA’s elite, and she’ll be tasked with picking up where she left off on Thursday. Though she enters Miami with a 9-38 lifetime record against the Top 10, Cornet has won seven of her last 13, and also owns four Top 2 victories. But the match-up could prove too difficult for the talented Frenchwoman on Thursday when she faces 2012 champion and current World No. 2 Agnieszka Radwanska. The Pole has been in scintillating form all season. She leads the WTA in wins with 17 and has reached at least the semifinal of all four events she has played in 2016.

Pick: Radwanska in two

[5] Simona Halep (ROU #5) vs. Daria Kasatkina (RUS #36)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Kasatkina is playing with a Top 40 ranking for the first time.
One of the more heavily anticipated match-ups of the second round pits fifth-seeded Simona Halep against rising Russian Daria Kasatkina. Both players are coming off quarterfinal appearances at Indian Wells, and though Halep will come in as the heavy favorite, all eyes will be on 18-year-old Kasatkina for two reasons: one, to see how the Russian will handle the challenge of backing up her breakout performance at Indian Wells, and two, to discover how Kasatkina matches up against one of the elite forces of the game in Halep. The Romanian was in good form at Indian Wells before falling to Serena Williams in the quarterfinals, and she has told reporters that she is feeling 100 percent healthy for the first time all season. Will her improving health mean another bump up in form for the Romanian?

Pick: Halep in two

[12] Elina Svitolina (UKR #16) vs. Zhang Shuai (CHN #68)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Zhang has already doubled her 2015 tour-level win total in 2016.
It’s been an incredible, emotional year for China’s Zhang Shuai, and the season isn’t even three months old. After qualifying for the Australian Open in January, Zhang went on a magical run to the quarterfinals, snapping her 0-for-14 streak at the majors by upsetting Halep in the first round. Zhang took a wild card into Indian Wells after winning a Challenger title in February and upset Caroline Wozniacki in the WTA’s longest match of the season (3:24) before falling to eventual champion Victoria Azarenka in the third round. China’s No.2 player will face a tough second-round test in No.12 seed Elina Svitolina on Thursday in Miami. The Ukrainian No.1, who recently hired seven-time major champion Justine Henin as a special consultant to her team, is seeking to reach the third round for the third consecutive year in Miami with a win.

Pick: Svitolina in three

[19] Timea Bacsinszky (SUI #20) vs. Margarita Gasparyan (RUS #41)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Gasparyan is making her main draw debut in Miami.
One of the bigger breakout performers of 2015 is in the process of rebuilding her game – and health – in 2016. Switzerland’s Timea Bacsinszky had to spend seven weeks without picking up a racquet this off-season after suffering a knee injury in her last event of the season in Luxembourg. Cheated out of a crucial training block during the winter, the 26-year-old has elected to build her fitness while playing events this season. The results have been mixed, but after a big win over Eugenie Bouchard last week at Indian Wells it appears that the Swiss is rounding into form. But she’ll be tested early in Miami when she faces Russia’s Margarita Gasparyan. The 21-year-old reached the second week at the Australian Open this winter, and has already notched eight wins on the season. She comes into Miami carrying a career-best ranking of No.41.

Pick: Bacsinszky in three

-Chris Oddo, wtatennis.com contributor

MIAMI, FL, USA – A former World No.21 and perennial doubles threat, Elena Vesnina needed to fight through qualifying just to reach the main draw of the Miami Open, but the veteran Russian caused one of the biggest shake-ups of the event thus far, outsteadying No.10 seed and former No.1 Venus Williams, 6-0, 6-7(5), 6-2.

Watch live action from Miami this fortnight on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

“That was a great match, great fight,” she told Andrew Krasny during her on-court interview. “It’s always an honor to play against Venus. She’s a great champion. We played many times against each other and it’s always been a pleasure to play her and it’s always been a tough match-up.

“I’m really happy that I won today.”

Far from the typical underdog, Vesnina came into the match with a solid week at the Qatar Total Open – where she earned back-to-back wins over Simona Halep and Caroline Wozniacki and ended Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza’s 41-match winning streak in doubles – and an even head-to-head against the illustrious American. Landing 74% of her first serves to start, she took advantage of a flat opponent to race through the opening set without losing a game.

“I honestly was a little bit shocked after the first set, thinking, ‘Ok, what’s going on?'”

The second set was a more even affair; though Vesnina took what appeared to be a decisive break in the seventh game, Venus broke back at the eleventh hour, saving a match point on the Russian’s serve at 5-4.

“Even when I was up 5-3, I felt Venus was playing better and better and she raised her level up.”

Pushing the second set into a tie-break, the momentum swung back and forth before Venus swept the final two points, ensuring that the crowd would see a final set.

“She was serving incredibly; on the tie-break she played at a very high level of tennis.”

Undaunted – and perhaps aware that she won their only prior three-set match at the Western & Southern Open back in 2013 – Vesnina raced out to another 3-0 lead; though Venus pegged her back to within a game of level terms, the reigning Australian Open mixed doubles champion ultimately hit more winners (35 to 28) and fewer errors (35 to 39) to clinch the victory.

“Even though I lost the second set, I still believed in myself, and I knew everything could happen. It was a pleasure to play on this center court.”

Up next for Vesnina is No.24 seed and Australian Open semifinalist Johanna Konta, who defeated Danka Kovinic, 6-4, 6-2. With No.6 seed Carla Suárez Navarro out at the hands of American CoCo Vandeweghe, the highest seed left in this quarter of the draw is BNP Paribas Open champion Victoria Azarenka, who is ranked in the Top 10 but seeded No.13.

Vesnina is also in the doubles draw, set to play her first round with 18-year-old Daria Kasatkina, with whom she ended the Santina Streak. Kasatkina started the year with a win over the elder of the Williams sisters at the ASB Classic, and could be seen supporting her partner from the stands.

“She told me a couple of things before the match, but she said, ‘That’s Venus; you have to expect everything,'” Vesnina said when asked whether her countrywoman had given her any advice. “It was great to have her in my player box alongside my husband and my dad.

“The center court atmosphere was really amazing. Even though I felt like Venus was the favorite and everyone really wanted her to win, there will still some people cheering for me, so that was really nice. It’s great when you can have a big team behind you, supporting you and believing in you.”

MIAMI, FL, USA – Victoria Azarenka survived a late wobble to defeat No.4 seed Garbiñe Muguruza and keep alive her hopes of becoming the first player in a decade to complete the Indian Wells-Miami double.

Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Miami right here on wtatennis.com!

No one since Kim Clijsters in 2005 has managed to win the two Premier Mandatory events in the same year and Azarenka weathered a barrage of winners from Muguruza to prevail, 7-6(6), 7-6(4), and book a quarterfinal spot.

“I think it was a high-quality match for both of us. It was a lot of good striking, a lot of winners, and both of us taking opportunities,” Azarenka said. “I think today I served really well, and I played to win in important moments. Momentum shifting, I think I was a little better today.”

Azarenka has started the year like a freight train, claiming titles in Brisbane and Indian Wells and winning 19 of 20 matches. Sandwiched between her triumphs in Australia and California was the sole setback, defeat to an inspired Angelique Kerber in the Australian Open quarterfinals.

This disappointment only seems to have fuelled the fire in the Belarusian and in a contest of fine margins and superlative shotmaking against Muguruza it was her game that stood firm at the pivotal moments.

Azarenka, who lifted the Miami Open in 2009 and 2011, produced an ace and a brilliant return to recover from 6-4 down in the first set tie-break and then forged 5-2 ahead in the second. Muguruza, though, went down all guns blazing, drawing level amidst a barrage of winners only to succumb in another tie-break.

In the last eight, Azarenka will face Johanna Konta, a 6-2, 6-2 winner earlier in the day over Monica Niculescu.

A leg injury to Azarenka cut short the only previous meeting between the two in Wuhan last autumn, since when the Briton has established herself at the top of the game.

“We have played in Wuhan last year, but it was difficult to consider that a full match since I didn’t really feel physically well or wasn’t good on the court,” Azarenka said. “But it’s really impressive to see how much she improved over the last couple months. Obviously had some great results; playing with a lot of confidence.

“She has a very solid game; big serve. I’m just looking forward to that challenge.”

Fantastic quality between Azarenka-Muguruza. The stats, as great as they are, don’t even capture it. pic.twitter.com/INJzhMOrMS

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) March 28, 2016

MIAMI, FL, USA – Victoria Azarenka continued her march towards a third Miami Open title with a straight set win over Johanna Konta in Wednesday’s quarterfinal.

Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Miami right here on wtatennis.com!

In a high-quality encounter, Azarenka withstood some early pressure before raising her game to prevail, 6-4, 6-2.

“She’s such a great player and it’s interesting to see what sort of player she was last year and playing well here, so I see a lot of potential,” Azarenka told ESPN’s Mary Joe Fernandez afterwards. “I couldn’t actually get a read on her serve in the beginning – it was tough for me to adjust – but then I got a bit lower and tried to get more returns in, be a bit more aggressive.”

Playing her first match on Crandon Park’s cavernous Stadium court, Konta started brightly, breezing through her first two service games whilst exerting early pressure with some aggressive returning.

But in the seventh game, Azarenka created an opportunity of her own, punching away a volley to earn her first break points. Konta produced some smart play to reach the safety of deuce only to succumb two points later when she double faulted for the first time.

This lapse proved a costly one, Azarenka’s serve holding firm to close out the set in a fraction under an hour. With Konta’s level dropping, Azarenka began to pile on the pressure, a brilliant stretching forehand return bringing up three break points early in the second set.

Once again, Konta’s serve wilted, a second double fault putting the No.13 seed in the driving seat. She soon stretched this lead to 5-1 and despite some spirited late resistance eventually crossed the finish line to register her 11th straight victory. 

“I think there are adjustments every day; it depends on the opponent you play, the conditions you play – I’ve played some night matches, I played some matches where it was really hot, today it’s really windy – so I think it’s all about adaptation every single day and for me focusing on my recovery because I’ve been playing a lot of tennis!”

After her Indian Wells triumph, the Belarusian remains on course to become just the third player to win Indian Wells and Miami in the same season. However, Azarenka, who lifted Miami titles in 2009 and 2011, refused to get drawn on her chances of becoming first player since Kim Clijsters to complete the feat: “Right now I’m looking forward to the semifinal. If I can make it, it’s great. Right now it seems so close but I want to stay in the present and continue to fight and keep getting better.”

Meeting Azarenka for a place in the final will be the winner of the evening encounter between Madison Keys and No.2 seed Angelique Kerber.

It was a pleasure to share the court with you @vika7 https://t.co/JXkFvNjzJD

— Johanna Konta (@JoKonta91) March 30, 2016

MIAMI, FL, USA – No.4 seeds Timea Babos and Yaroslava Shvedova secured their place in the Miami Open doubles final with a hard-fought win over Margarita Gasparyan and Monica Niculescu on Friday.

Gasparyan and Niculescu have been the tournament’s surprise package, knocking out a number of more seasoned teams, including top seeds and defending champions Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza. However, Babos and Shvedova were determined not to add their names to the list of upsets, digging deep to close out a 7-5, 4-6, 10-8 victory in an hour and 41 minutes.

“It was a tough match because the girls played well – they’ve proved through this two weeks that they’re a very good team – and it was not easy,” Shvedova said. “The conditions were windy and Monica has a special style of playing, so we needed to be patient and keep working hard.”

The outcome of a see-saw encounter remained in the balance until the very last, Gasparyan and Niculescu rallying from 8-5 down in the match tie-break to come within two points of victory. “It’s our style, we were down in both sets and then almost in the super tie-break, too,” Babos added.

“But we enjoy playing with each other – on my part, for sure! – and this makes it a lot easier to fight for every point and as it shows in doubles anything can happen. Basically they didn’t do any mistakes but we were fighting and coming back, taking it point by point and in the end we got the tie-break.”

Having lifted the Tashkent title in their first outing together two and a half years ago, Babos and Shvedova reunited for Indian Wells, where they proceeded to make the semifinals before being edged out by Bethanie Mattek-Sands and CoCo Vandeweghe.

Sunday’s final at Crandon Park presents a shot at – partial – revenge, after Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova prevailed, 6-2, 6-1, in their clash against Zheng Saisai and Xu Yi-Fan.

“It was a great match, we knew we had to play well, but I love the night match atmosphere – a lot of fans stayed after the men’s match – and it’s great because we really had a lot of fan support and they were cheering for some great tennis,” Mattek-Sands said.

The result means that Mattek-Sands remains on course to become just the third player to win Indian Wells and Miami in the same year with different partners; Natasha Zvereva triumphed alongside Lindsay Davenport at Indian Wells and Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario at Miami, in 1997, before Martina Hingis repeated the feat two years later, teaming up with Anna Kournikova at Indian Wells and Jana Novotna at Miami.

KEY INFORMATION:
Tournament Level: Premier
Prize Money: $753,000
Draw Size: 56 main draw (8 byes)/32 qualifying
Qualifying Dates: Saturday, April 2 – Sunday, April 3 
First Day of Main Draw: Monday, April 4
Singles Final: Sunday, April 10, NB 1.00pm EDT
Doubles Final: Sunday, April, 10.30am EDT

MUST FOLLOW SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS:
@WTA
@WTA_Insider – WTA Insider, Senior Writer Courtney Nguyen
@VolvoCarOpen – official tournament handle
Get involved in conversations with the official hashtags, #VCO2016 and #WTA.

TOURNAMENT NOTES:
· Angelique Kerber returns as top seed to defend her title.
· There have been three different champions in the past three years in Charleston. There are four returning champions in the field this year – Kerber (2016), Andrea Petkovic (2014), Samantha Stosur (2010) and Sabine Lisicki (2009).
· For the complete draw click here.

WILDCARDS:
Frances Altick (USA), Louisa Chirico (USA), Shelby Rogers (USA)

WITHDRAWALS:
Jelena Jankovic (right shoulder), Petra Cetkovska (right thigh)