Victoria Azarenka vs Johanna Larsson – 1st Round Preview: US Open 2011
Monday, 29th August was dated to start off with the 1st round matches of the US Open 2011. Set at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, the Grand Slam put forward a variety of players waiting to
battle each other for the top spot.
Facing each other for the first time ever, Victoria Azarenka, Belarus, is onto play against the Swede world No. 64, Johanna Larsson.
Historically, the 22-year-old world No.5, Azarenka has been in overwhelming form lately. Out of the past 10 matches, she has won 7. Playing at hard courts and on grass, the Belarusian has been perfect on fast hard and grass courts.
Starting off in 2003 as a pro, Azarenka has claimed 7 WTA titles since then. Ranked at world no.5, the Belarusian is having the best career statistics at the moment..
Taking in note of her performance in 2011, the 22-year-old has been a consistent player all over. Winning two titles back-to-back, the Belarusian capture the Miami Open, beating Maria Sharapova and then went on winning the clay
court in Madrid beating Irina-Camelia Begu.
Following her two wins this year she has made up to the quarter-finals and semis after that, however, failed to dominate again. The 22-year-old has some hidden talents; rather we can consider them distractions for her opponent.
Azarenka is heavily criticized by professional for the noise she makes while playing.
During the 2010 Australian open quarter-final between Serena and Azarenka, the commentators noted that the Belarusian’s screams were so long that she was still yelling when Serena returned the ball. Consider someone screaming for
an hour and still playing tennis?!
Challenging Azarenka in the 1st round is the Swede world no.64, Larsson. Aged 23, Larsson plays right handed with a double handed backhand. Competitively the 23-year-old is an agile player with a strong capability to
retaliate.
Also, the Swede is known for bouncing back in the game; however, she has never won any major titles since she started off in 2006. Formerly ranked as world No.46, Larsson has been up in many Premier 5 events; however, she could
not make it through the 2nd rounds. On the other hand, the 23-year-old has won 2 WTA titles in doubles
Considering the two playing each other, Azarenka claims the more points as she has the better rankings in singles and has a better play. The Belarusian also wins the comparison points regarding the previous 10 matches win as Azarenka
has won 7 and Larsson backs up with 6 wins.
The only similarity the two have is that they stand tall almost the same. So considering disparity in the two, Larsson needs to work up something different and extraordinary in order to defeat the world No.5, Azarenka.
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