Victoria Azarenka dispatches Petra Martic in the quarters – Generali Ladies Linz 2012
Petra Martic, the 21-year-old Croatian, became the recent victim of the ongoing onslaught of the reigning world number one, Victoria Azarenka. She bowed in straight sets 2-6, 2-6 that confirmed the semi-final spot for the 23-year-old
Belarusian who is looking to bag another title before moving out for the eight elite season-end finale contest in Istanbul.
It was the first meeting between the two contestants and the expected result turned out to be real at the hard courts of Austria. Azarenka spared just 79 minutes before disposing the Croatian superstar who played some impressive
tennis throughout the tournament but didn’t have any answers to the rocket-paced returns of her rival.
Azarenka is yet to lose a match ever since her retirement in the quarter-final of the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo. She clubbed the title in Beijing; lifting the China Open trophy and practically stays unbeaten since the final
of the US Open Championship in New York where she was dispatched by the American number one, Serena Williams.
In the first two games, Martic failed to win a single point. She was trailing from a breakpoint and the onslaught sunk her further to 0-3. The Belarusian sprayed two shots out of six in the following game and mounted a gigantic
lead of 4-0 on her rival who was looking just a piece of cake for her.
Both players bagged the following serve games to end the opening set in quick succession. The 21-year-old Croatian had her opponent under the cosh in the sixth game and almost broke through before a marvellous return from the Belarusian
kept the point alive.
The second set witnessed a trade of breakpoints at the start that were coupled with a serve hold apiece. Scores were pushed to 2-2 in the meantime. It looked like a much better performance from the 64th ranked Croatian
but the demoralizing scenes arrive in the fifth game when she failed to hold serve. Azarenka wasted little time in closing down the contest; won three games in a row courtesy another breakthrough and booked a date with the Romanian lucky loser, Irina-Camelia
Begu.
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