2011 Andalucia Tennis Experience: Victoria Azarenka vs Irina-Camelia Begu – Final Preview
Top seeded Victoria Azarenka will take on qualifier Irina-Camelia Begu on Sunday in the final of 2011 Andalucia Tennis Experience in Marbella, Spain.
Azarenka made a decent start to the season reaching the quarterfinal at Hobart. She then made it to the fourth round of year’s first grand slam, Australian Open. However, her most significant performance was recorded at the
2011 Sony Ericson where she humbled former world number one Maria Sharapova in straight sets to lift sixth Women’s Tennis Association title of her career..
Azarenka said: "I played really well in the first set. Maria is such a great fighter, I knew she was going to fight to the end. She came up with great tennis at the end and I had to hang in there. That's what paid off."
At the Women’s Tennis Association clay courts tournament she displayed high quality tennis and justified her top seed position, winning all of her matches comfortably. She thrashed out Italian Sara Errani 6-2, 6-2 in the
semifinal to set up a final meeting with Romanian Begu. In a post match interview she said,
"I just don't care if I lose. I'm just there to do the best I can. I'm going to fight for every ball, and what outcome comes out, it's not up to me. What I meant by not caring about losing is not to create such a big drama
out of it. If you lose the match, you just lose a tennis match. It's not the end of the world."
Her opponent Irina-Camelia Begu on the other hand has an impressive record on the ITF circuit but is yet to prove her mettle in the WTA arena. Her previous WTA appearance of this season was witnessed at the 2011 Mexican Open
where she reached the second round.
In the semifinal Begu ousted Svetlana Kuznetsova in three tight sets. Kuznetsova is the former world number two and winner of 13 WTA titles. Ranked 138th in the world, Begu will be hoping to put up
a similar performance in the final to improve her WTA rankings. However she must up her game play and control her unforced errors if she wants to stand a chance against the inform Azarenka.
Azarenka is an aggressive baseliner and has the ability to execute her game plan under pressure. She possesses a powerful backhand shot which she can use effectively against her opponents. The 21-year-old is yet to drop a
set in the competition and is a clear favourite for the final clash on Sunday. Begu can create problems for Azarenka if she sticks to her strengths and keep her focus.
Prediction: Considering Azarenka’s recent performances on the tour she is expected to win the final in straight sets.
Tags: