Victoria Azarenka used her strong form to survive a rush from a tough opponent to get into the fourth round at Wimble..."/> Victoria Azarenka used her strong form to survive a rush from a tough opponent to get into the fourth round at Wimble..."/>
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Azarenka advances to fourth round defeating Mladenovic

By Rudy Martinez

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Victoria Azarenka used her strong form to survive a rush from a tough opponent to get into the fourth round at Wimbledon Friday. The Belorussian superstar defeated France’s Kristina Mladenovic 6-4, 6-4 on Court Three at the All England Club.

The 22-year-old French tennis star has been lucky to get this far after qualifying for Wimbledon due to her great run at Birmingham making it to the semifinals in the AEGON Cup. She found herself face to face with Azarenka who she has never faced before. The Belorussian superstar continues to climb back to the top ever so slowly as the fight has been a struggle.

With her having to face tough opponents off the bat, the run in tournaments has not been easy for her. So far she has been doing well after defeating Kirsten Flipkens Wednesday with a 6-3, 6-3 win. While the competition heats up in its progression, the third round match would be an interesting one, as Mladenovic knows how to pull off an upset.

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Mladenovic made her mark early with a strong opening serve that gave her the win on game point. Azarenka responded on serve, holding pace against the Frenchwoman in response. Game Three went to deuce where the Belorussian used her experience to break the serve of her opponent and take control. By Game Four, Azarenka had a three game winning streak after performing a love service against Mladenovic.

The streak was broken for Azarenka as she blew five chances on the break point to hand possession back to Mladenovic and win on the third break of deuce. Both then got into a trade of victories where despite landing an ace in Game Seven against Azarenka, the lead was too far to close as the former number one walked to victory in the set by a two game margin.

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    • Azarenka won 81 percent of points on her serve and 64 percent on the return. With her effort to keep the unforced errors to a minimum her defense against Mladenovic paid off to have her out front.

    Azarenka had control at the opening of the second set holding serve on deuce before taking the win. A triple break point from the Belorussian made it look as if she would run the set and walk away with the match. Mladenovic made her shots clear on court making Azarenka eat her own game winning the third on a triple break. It became the turning point as the Frenchwoman rallied out to a three game winning streak forcing deuce before closing the door on Azarenka.

    The Belorussian had enough of watching Mladenovic marching back into the set. In the sixth, Azarenka answered with a force of deuce that went into five breaks where she ultimately used all her effort to win. After one last win to the Frenchwoman, Azarenka gained the opportunity to close out the match with a fifth win in the set. The challenge from Mladenovic was still strong on court as she made Azarenka earn every point.

    After gaining leverage and room to make great shots, Azarenka took control of the game making great returns that led to her victory in 1 hour and 39 minutes. Despite having four double faults in the set, Azarenka maintained an average serve landing 76 percent of her shots against Mladenovic while winning just 43 percent on the return.

    Mladenovic had an edge over Azarenka on some levels but her ferocity could stay alive for long as she finds herself taking an exit from London. While she goes back to the drawing board, the Belorussian moves into round four to face last weeks AEGON International champion Belinda Bencic. The 30th seed in the tournament has been on a complete tear defeating Bethanie Mattek Sands in full sets.

    Next: Sharapova advances to fourth round for a tenth time

    Victoria Azarenka on point to return the shot in her third round match at Wimbledon

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