Victoria Azarenka breezes past Vera Zvonareva into final match – WTA Championships 2011
World number four, Victoria Azarenka from Belarusian sailed into her first ever tour championships final on Saturday, 29th October after doing away with former world number two, Vera Zvonareva. Playing at the Sinan Erdem
Dome in Istanbul, Turkey Azarenka took an hour and forty two minutes to do away with the Russian with a 6-2, 6-3 win.
Old rivals on the court, Azarenka came into the match trailing 4-6 in her head-to-head score over the Russian. However, the Belarusian enjoyed a certain edge over the Russian. In their only meeting this year at the Sony Ericsson
Open, Azarenka had done away with Zvonareva in straight sets. The Belarusian had also enjoyed recent victories over Samantha Stosur and Li Na in the round robin matches. Although she had lost to alternate Marion Bartoli, Azarenka had recovered from the loss
and was in top form to take on the Russian in the semi-final.
Azarenka opened serve and after a successful hold of serve broke her opponent in the second game to clinch an early 2-0 lead. However, the lead was short-lived as Zvonareva broke back immediately in the third game before holding
her serve to bring the score to even terms. This was the last time the Russian found herself on the scoreboard in the first set. Enjoying back-to-back breaks in the sixth and then the final game of the set, Azarenka secured a 6-2 win in the first set.
Maintaining her form into the second set, Azarenka continued her onslaught against the Russian. Although Zvonareva held her own in the first few games even saving breakpoints after nine deuces in the fourth game, the lengthy rallies
eventually wore out the Russian. Standing at 3-2 to Azarenka, the pair exchanged breakpoint opportunities with two to the Belarusian while one to the Russian. Leading 5-3, Azarenka served out the set to secure a 6-3 win, sealing her straight sets win.
Surviving three aces from the Russian with none of her own, Azarenka only edged past Zvonareva into the final match capitalising on the Russian’s seven double faults and a lot more errant strokes.
Doing away with the Russian, Azarenka now moves into her first ever title match on the tour championships where she will play another debutant, Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic. The 2011 Wimbledon champion clashed against 2011
US Open champion Samantha Stosur in the other semi-final of the day. Kvitova bounced back from a set down to secure a 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 victory over the Aussie.
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