Victoria Azarenka slams Romina Oprandi in the opening round clash – Qatar Total Open 2013
Romanian underdog, Romina Oprandi, registered an upset in the opening round of Qatar Total Open 2013 but she couldn’t withstand the might of the reigning world number one, Victoria Azarenka, on Wednesday. The top seeded Belarusian
absolutely hammered Oprandi in straight sets, settling the final scores at 6-2, 6-3, to reach the pre-quarter-final round comprehensively.
Being the number one seed in the tournament, Azarenka received a bye to have a direct access to the second round. She was off to sloppy start in the opening set but built up pace within no time to take the driving seat in the contest.
The 23-year-old Belarusian took just 72 minutes to wrap up the match against the world number 62. She defeated Oprandi twice during the last WTA season and her Wednesday’s victory extended her lead to 3-1 against the Romanian in their head-to-head series.
Azarenka dropped her serve in the very first game of the match and was soon found trailing at 0-2, 0-30. She turned the tide from that point and went for a nine-game rampage, breaking her opponent in four successive games. She
took the opening set at 6-2 and then went on blazing through the second set to finish off the contest at 6-3.
"I felt like it was a little bit of a slow start for me - I started to go for my shots too much at the beginning," Azarenka said after the match. "Then I started to be more patient, work the points more, got more into the game
and started to play much better. I'm really glad I could turn it around. She's a very tricky opponent. I never want to underestimate my opponents. So it was important to stay on top of her and not let her play the game she likes."
Her 76 per cent first serve yielded her 36 out of 49 points in the match, whilst Oprandi lagged far behind with merely 12 out of 23 points. Azarenka cashed in four out of her five break opportunities in the contest and her rival
could convert just one out of her seven priceless chances.
Azarenka will next face Christina McHale for a place in the quarter-final draw.
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