Azarenka solidifies quarterfinals by beating Bencic
Victoria Azarenka made quick work of the Eastbourne champion with a solid straight sets win at Wimbledon. The Belorussian superstar ended the match with an 11 points streak that helped defeat Belinda Bencic 6-2, 6-2 on Court 12 of the All England Club Monday.
This was the first time the players had met in their careers which only made things clear that the fourth round would mean a lot to either one to perform well. So far the recent weeks have been good for the Swiss star as she took home the title at Eastbourne defeating Agnieszka Radwanska in the final. Azarenka dropped out of the tournament to prepare for Wimbledon, which has been the best choice of action.
She has played well under the pressure of her opponents to come against Bencic who sits on a nine game winning streak. Though her victories have caused her to play with every effort left in her, the 22nd ranked player has done well holding her stance as a strong contender. With things becoming important in one of the most prestigious majors of the sport, both ladies will do whatever it takes to continue their quest at Wimbledon glory.
Live Feed
The Pride of London
Bencic gave Azarenka plenty to worry about as she pulled off a love service against the Belorussian. The effort went sour for her as the former number one made her service against the Swiss star one to remember. It was the first of five straight that Azarenka would win where the margin of victory was by two points or less.
Bencic fought hard in the sixth game to prevent Azarenka to set up the set win but faltered on two breaks unable to deal with her forehand winner. She would win the next game on two points while serving that became the highlight of her set. Azarenka returned on serve to win on two set points where she ended the battle in 30 minutes with Bencic firing a backhanded shot into the net.
Azarenka’s serve was going well for her as she made only one double fault in the set landing 17 of 25 in court. Of the 17 scored, the Belorussian tallied 15 of those while trying to get hold of her reception of shots from Bencic.
More from Majors
- Caroline Wozniacki gets her wild card for the Australian Open
- Tennis News: Rafael Nadal, Emma Raducanu and protected rankings
- 2024 WTA Predictions: How Iga Swiatek remains on top
- Tennis News: Carlos Alcaraz, Andy Roddick and Emma Raducanu
- We asked AI to predict the 2024 Grand Slams: How many for Djokovic?
The Swiss star swept through Azarenka in the first game winning a love service against her. The Belorussian was able to pull off the same feat with a sweep of Game Two. Things began to settle as the battle ensued in Game Three where Bencic forced deuce while down a point on serve. The two went into three breaks where Bencic took a 2-1 lead firing an ace at Azarenka.
Bencic fought hard while receiving where she forced deuce a second time only to fall on an unforced error from the backhand after two breaks. Both ladies found a way to control the game against each other that continued the tie on set. Game Seven became the complete game changer in the match as Azarenka climbed back from 0-30 where she took the victory with four points in a row that gave her a 4-3 lead in the set.
The point’s streak was still alive as she took the next game with a love service increasing her streak to eight points. The total came to 11 straight points for Azarenka before Bencic made one last fight to bring it to an end. It would not save her from the inevitable as the Belorussian won the match point on Bencic’s unforced error off the backhand that brought the match to a close in one hour and eight minutes.
Azarenka improved of her first serve winning 81 percent of her points on 16 shots in court while her returns improved slightly to give her the win. With her shots defeating the former junior champion of the tournament, the former number clearly earned the right to move forward into the quarterfinals.
She will meet against Serena Williams for a second time this season where their last match didn’t go well for Azarenka. With plenty of improvement in her game the 25 year old will prepare to try and make her comeback live on against tougher opponents.