2016 Season Review: Azarenka Sweeps Sunshine Double
Capturing the Indian Wells-Miami “Sunshine Double” is no easy feat, but Victoria Azarenka and Bethanie Mattek-Sands made it look easy in March, taking home both titles at the BNP Paribas Open and Miami Open in singles and doubles (with CoCo Vandeweghe and Lucie Safarova), respectively. Who else made waves in the midst of the Sunshine Swing?
Azarenka’s Spring Surge
The former No.1 started 2016 ranked outside the Top 20, but Azarenka was on a mission from first ball at Indian Wells, roaring to her biggest career title and first Premier Mandatory crown since 2012.
After double bageling Magdalena Rybarikova in the last eight, she survived a topsy-turvy semifinal encounter with future US Open finalist Karolina Pliskova before stunning then-World No.1 Serena Williams, who was playing her first final in the California desert since 2001.
Azarenka says her forehand return has improved, can hit more angles, winners from that side. Other game tweaks: pic.twitter.com/k2z4vkokuV
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) March 16, 2016
“I believe I’m a stronger, faster, and a smarter player,” she told WTA Insider after the final. “I find ways to win when some other things don’t work. I’ve improved my serve a lot. I’m mentally way happier, and I have people with whom I see no limitations.”
The win brought her back into the Top 10 for the first time in nearly two years, and put her in position for the elusive Sunshine Double.
Azarenka Strikes Two In Miami
Azarenka was even more emphatic in Miami, winning her third title of the season without dropping a set in sunny Florida.
The most impressive match came against eventual Roland Garros champion Garbiñe Muguruza, whom the Belarusian narrowly eliminated in a pair of tie-breaks. Azarenka went on to avenge her Australian Open defeat to Angelique Kerber in the semifinals and dismiss surprise finalist Svetlana Kuznetsova in straight sets.
Champagne taste and caviar dreams for @vika7 @MiamiOpen. pic.twitter.com/fCH9do3e2J
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) April 2, 2016
Back in the Top 5, she appeared on course to challenge for even bigger titles as the tour turned to clay.
“It’s been a really long month and to be able to contain this determination and that intensity throughout all the matches is definitely not an easy task,” she told WTA Insider. “The last couple of days especially has been a lot of expectations and pressure from the outside to complete the Sunshine Double.
“I’m very proud that I kept myself present, kept myself really focused and focused on the job before anything else.”
Mattek-Sands Serves Double Trouble
While Azarenka dominated a compelling month of singles, Mattek-Sands was cleaning things up in doubles with two different partners across Indian Wells and Miami.
First partnering up with CoCo Vandeweghe, the Americans upset No.2 seeds Chan Yung-Jan and Chan Hao-Ching and No.3 seeds Timea Babos and Yaroslava Shvedova en route to the final, where they narrowly outlasted Julia Goerges and Karolina Pliskova, 6-4, 4-6, 10-6.
Women's doubles champs Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova have a special message for their fans. #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/ZibcZlUNTN
— Miami Open (@MiamiOpen) April 3, 2016
Moving to Miami, Mattek-Sands reunited with former partner Lucie Safarova (with whom she’d captured the Australian Open and French Open last year), and ran the table to win the tournament without dropping a set, defeating Babos and Shvedova in the final.
The second half of the Sunshine Double proved ample foreshadowing for Mattek-Sands, who went on to win the US Open with Safarova and ride an 18-match winning streak into the final of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
Elsewhere…
A trio of veterans struck gold through the post-Aussie Indoor and Middle East Swing, with Roberta Vinci, Carla Suárez Navarro, and Sara Errani taking home titles in St. Petersburg, Doha, and Dubai, respectively. Vinci’s run in Russia helped her become the oldest Top 10 debutante in WTA history, while runner-up Belinda Bencic became the youngest since 2009 to make her Top 10 debut. Suárez Navarro earned the biggest title of her career, outlasting the charge of young hotshot Jelena Ostapenko, while Errani won a battle of veterans by knocking out Barbora Strycova in Dubai.
All photos courtesy of Getty Images.
