Victoria Azarenka cripples Arantxa Rus to enter round two – Generali Ladies Linz 2012
Top seed, Victoria Azarenka, devastated the Dutch challenger, Arantxa Rus, with a bagel at the Generali Ladies Linz 2012 on Wednesday. She juggled up a 6-0, 6-2 victory against the left-handed Dutch to book a spot in the second round at this WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) International-level tournament held in Linz, Austria.
Ranked top in the world, Azarenka showed flawless performance to crush the Dutchwoman in their first encounter. After notching this victory in one hour and five minutes, Azarenka comfortably inched closer towards her sixth year-to-date title. The Belarusian star is coming off from winning the China Open, a WTA Premier Mandatory event held in Beijing, and is in awesome run of form.
Azarenka was quoted in a post match press conference:
"Maybe it didn't show that way on the court, but I'm definitely feeling the jetlag right now! But I adjusted and felt comfortable in the conditions today, which was surprising for me. I didn't expect to play the perfect match today, even though after the first set I felt that it was happening to me."
The 23-year-old went berserk after entering the Intersport Arena. She unleashed exquisite forehands from her arsenal of skills and went on a six-game killing spree. Azarenka was never challenged with any barrier and cashed three out of four break chances, eventually pulling out the opener with a bagel.
The Belarusian number one maintained her intensity in the proceeding set. She got the coveted break in the opening game and jumped to a 2-0 lead. After breaking her rival’s serve once again, Azarenka cruised to a 4-1 lead. Regardless of losing her serve in the very next game, she availed another break chance in the seventh game and ultimately sealed the set by winning six games to two.
The Belarusian reflected about playing in Linz after conquering the Premier Mandatory event in Beijing:
"Looking at the names who have won this title, it's an honour to be here and to play. The motivation is big. I would like to get the trophy. I like to play tennis, I like to win, and I want to keep the momentum going.”
Next in queue for Azarenka is the Romanian number one, Simona Halep, who recorded a 3-0 retirement victory against Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko to reach this spot. Halep dusted away both breakpoints she came across and cashed in the lone break opportunity, eventually recording the retirement victory in 19 minutes.
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