By Magdalena
Stanislav
 |
| Charged-up Victoria Azarenka denies Angelique Kerber |
ISTANBUL, Turkey
(TheSportsNEXT) October 25, 2012: World number one Victoria Azarenka kept
her nerves to record her first victory at the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships
in Istanbul on Wednesday.
In a battle that lasted for over three hours, Victoria
Azarenka was pushed to the limits by Angelique Kerber of Germany but failed to
execute her authority as the Belarusian made an impressive start to her WTA
Championships campaign with 6-7 (11-13) 7-6 (2) 6-4 victory.
With her second defeat at the WTA Championships, the world number
5 Angelique Kerber is out of semi-finals contention.
Needing to win the match to stay alive in the competition,
Angelique Kerber showed great intent right from the start and raced to a 3-1
lead before eventually winning it after an historic tie-break where she saved
as many as five set points to finally win the first set by 7-6 (13-11). The first
set equaled the record of longest tie-break in the history of WTA Championships.
Victoria Azarenka couldn’t get the first set out of her mind
when she told reporters, “Honestly, when I was up 6-2 in the tie-break, she
played three great points, then I made a stupid mistake. I made a few too many
unforced errors today, but it happens, and she was playing really well - she
forced me to do those unforced errors."
Victoria Azarenka looked more in control in the second set
as she scampered to 4-2 lead before Angelique Kerber won three straight games
to take 5-4 lead and reached the double match point and at one stage was
leading her opponent 15-40 on her serve. However, she failed to capitalize on
the golden opportunity to seal the deal and Azarenka stormed her way back into
contention with powerful tennis and won the set eventually by 7-6.
Victoria Azarenka told reporters about the second set, “On
the match points I just thought I had to go for it - she wasn't going to miss,
and I didn't want to wait for her to make a mistake. I was so determined to
make it happen. I wanted to take destiny into my hands - if I missed those
shots, it was going to be up to me, not up to my opponent."
Angelique Kerber stated, “Vika played unbelievable in those
moments. She played unbelievable on those match points. I really couldn't do
anything."
After winning the second set, Victoria Azarenka raced to 5-3
advantage in the third set before ending the over three hours long battle by
breaking Kerber.
"I was fighting so hard - at the beginning of the
tournament it's quite hard to have a match like that!" Azarenka said
adding, “But all the best players are here and you have to show your best
tennis. I don't think I did that, but at least I showed my best fight. I'm glad
I lived this experience and overcame the challenges today."
Angelique Kerber is yet to beat Victoria Azarenka as she
told reporters, “I gave it my best today, but Vika played too well in the
important moments. Of course I'm a little bit sad I lost this match but the
quality was unbelievable - there's just one winner and one loser, and Vika won
today. I was happy to be a part of this great match. The atmosphere was
amazing."
Victoria Azarenka next plays Serena Williams, who has
already qualified for the semi-finals of the WTA Championships.
Talking about her Thursday’s encounter, Azarenka said, “I
have to be ready for anything and give my all. It's the last push here. I'll
recover tonight and keep as much energy as possible. The most important thing
for me is to have the desire - and I have it."
No comments:
Post a Comment