Victoria Azarenka vs. Tamira Paszek – Quarterfinal Preview: Wimbledon Championships 2011
World number fiveVictoria Azarenka will be facing Tamira Paszek of Austria for a semi-final spot at 2011 Wimbledon Championships in London, United Kingdom. Azarenka and Paszek are scheduled to meet on Court No. 1, with the match
starting time at 15:00 (London time).
Seeded fourth, Azarenka has displayed some high quality tennis throughout the tournament to justify her position in the draw. She started her Wimbledon campaign confidently with a decisive victory over Iveta Benesova. Azarenka
then defeated the inform Daniela Hantuchova in the third round despite a strong comeback from the Slovakian tennis pro. In the fourth round play, she made quick work of Nadia Petrova to keep her wonderful run going.
Enjoying the best season of her entire career, the Belarusian star has already bagged two Women’s Tennis Association titles this year; at Miami and Marbella. Coming to her performances in the Grand Slam tournaments this season,
Azarenka reached the quarterfinals of the 2011 French Open. Following her consistent performances on the tour, she reached her career high ranking of world number four a few weeks back, though she was displaced by French Open champion Na Li to her current
position.
However, there is a bigger responsibility on her shoulders now as her supporters are expecting her to achieve better results this time around. She has looked in complete control of her game right from her first showing at the All
England lawn tennis Club. With Williams sisters and world number one Caroline Wozniacki already out of the tournament, Azarenka is a strong favourite for the Wimbledon title this year. However to make her dreams come true, she must stay focused and work hard
for every point.
Azarenka’s opponent Tamira Paszek is still new to the WTA arena. She has played in a very few Grand Slam tournament so she is inexperienced at this level. The Austrian looked like a major talent in 2007 when she made it to the
fourth round of both Wimbledon championships and US Open. However, since then she has not been able to come up with her “A” game in any of the Major tournaments and suffered several early round losses. Ranked 80th in the world, Paszek has an excellent
opportunity to prove her metal.
The two players have contested each other only once on the tour previously at 2008 Montreal where Azarenka scored a straight sets victory. Although Azarenka is in great form, she is known to crumble in big matches. She will be
looking to keep her focus right till the end. Paszek, on the other hand, will try to keep the rallies short and win as many cheap points as possible. Considering Azarenka’s recent performances, she is likely to win the match in straight sets.
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