Victoria Azarenka defeats Daniela Hantuchova to reach the fourth round – Wimbledon Championships 2011
Victoria Azarenka knows she must improve her concentration after she wriggled out of a miserable second set to crush Daniela Hantuchova and reserve her place in the fourth round of Wimbledon Championships 2011.
Still stunned by last week's shock loss to Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli in Eastbourne, the Belarusian never quite found her excellent variety in game but she did enough to triumph 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, taking two hours and ten minutes.
Azarenka's serve went up in smoke terribly but Hantuchova was proving equally desultory and the No.4 seed capitalised, breaking for 3-1 and again to take the set with a sibilating forehand down the line.
Hantuchova rose to the occasion in the second set, playing some high-minded attacking tennis as she broke Azarenka in the opening game and again with a sliced forehand to go 3-1 ahead.
Azarenka's irregularity was pretty highlighted in the way she took one break back only to lose another service game and give Hantuchova the opportunity to serve out the set, and she consequently did so in an attempt to force the decider.
But another break soon put Azarenka back in control and although she failed to take advantage of her crucial match point on Hantuchova’s serve at 5-2, she served out with a little difficulty to secure her fourth round berth at the Wimbledon Championships.
Azarenka expressed her views in a post-match interview, saying, "Daniela is in very good form right now, it was a tough battle with some great rallies. She also served really well. I had to stay tough and composed, and of course I had to keep fighting."
Playing her third match against the Slovakian No.1, Azarenka has managed to cut the deficit to 1-2 in the head-to-head series, and has further extended her year-to-date win/loss mark to 36/10 matches since January.
The Belarusian No.1 now crawls her way into the fourth round of the Wimbledon Championships, and anyone who likes some hard-hitting and emotion showing should definitely indulge into Saturday’s action at the All England Tennis Club, as Belarusian No.1 and Russian No.8, Nadia Petrova will battle it out for the fifth time in their career.
When at their best, Azarenka and Petrova are two of the most electrifying players on tour, having the ability to turn the match on its head even in extreme difficult situations and looking into their head-to-head series, being tied at 2-2; this match is a complete toss-up.
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