Victoria Azarenka has to win a bronze medal to retain her number one spot – Tennis News
World number one, Victoria Azarenka, is once again on the verge of losing her number one spot to the Roland Garros French Open Champion, Maria Sharapova.
The Belarusian superstar met the fourth seed American, Serena Williams, in the semi-final showdown of London Olympics and lost miserably in straight sets that killed her hopes of winning either gold or at least a silver medal in her maiden appearance at the Summer Olympics Games.
With that loss, the number one spot is once again open for the Russian superstar who will meet the likes of the 30-year-old American, Serena Williams, in the final showdown on Saturday. It is high time for the blonde Russian to reclaim her throne at the same place where she lost it back to the Belarusian top seed; the All England Lawn Tennis Club, Wimbledon.
Azarenka has 8800 points at the moment; leading the Russian third seed by just a mere margin of 430 points. Now, the gold medallist at Olympics will take home 750 points, 450 are reserved for the silver medallist and the bronze holder will gobble up 340 points.
The Belarusian faces the Russian 14th seed, Maria Kirilenko, in the hunt for a bronze medal on the eve of Saturday. So, she has an opportunity to add up 340 points to her tally that will enhance her lead to 770 points on the top and save her number one spot for sure.
However, if she fails to win the encounter on Saturday, Sharapova will automatically climb to the number one as she is assured of winning a silver medal at least having made it to the grand final on Friday. The Russian will be clear on top with at least 20 points by the end of this tournament if the 22-year-old Belarusian fails to win a bronze medal.
So, it all depends on Azarenka now. If she gobbles up the medal by ousting Kirilenko on Saturday, she will save retain the number one spot. Nevertheless, the positive result for the 15th ranked Russian superstar will push down the Belarusian to world number two in the new edition of rankings posted on Monday.
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