Victoria Azarenka defeats Pavlyuchenkova to reach quarterfinals at the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open
Belarusian star Victoria Azarenka made a strong come back to defeat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 on Monday as she reached the quarterfinals of 2011 Sony Ericsson Open in Miami.
Azarenka looked down and out as the match started. She made several backhand and serve errors early on, which allowed her opponent to dictate the terms of the match. Azarenka frequently over-hit the ball and suffered two serve
breaks to go 0-3 in the opening set. She was unable to break back against Pavlyuchenkova’s blistering serves and lost the set 3-6.
In the second set, Azarenka lifted her game and executed her shots a lot better. She broke the serve twice and displayed some crafty tennis to take the set 6-1. With her superior forehands and backhands she made the challenger
run for her money. Azarenka’s court coverage was excellent and her serve was also on target.
In the decider both players fought hard and exchanged breaks. Azarenka broke the serve when the score was tied at 4-4 and then held on to her serve game to seal victory. The match lasted for 2 hours and 7 minutes.
Seeded 8th at this tournament, Azarenka adopted an aggressive baseline strategy and at times made her opponent look completely ineffective. She achieved 66 percent first serve conversion and won more than 66 percent
of the points on her serve games. Pavlyuchenkova on the other hand looked extremely disappointed at letting the opportunity slip away after she had a firm control over the contest. Her unforced errors played a vital role in deciding the outcome of the match.
Azarenka made big news two years ago when she defeated 5 times champion Serena Williams in the final of Sony Ericsson Open to bag first Women’s Tennis Association 1000 series title of her career. Since then the 21 year has consistently
remained in the WTA top players and achieved her career high ranking of world number 6 in October 2009.
"As a person (winning the title in 2009) didn't change me at all," Azarenka said after her win. "As a player probably some people realized my name. But you know, I don't feel much difference except the experience you get. You know,
the feeling that next time you walk on the court (for) a big match you don't feel as nervous as I probably was."
Winner of 5 WTA titles, Azarenka has been in decent form since the start of year 2011 and considered as one of the favourites for this tournament. However she must try and bring consistency in her serve if she wants to pose any
threats to other top seeded players. She will take on either Kim Clijsters or Ana Ivanovic in her quarterfinal match-up.
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