Azarenka stuns Williams in front of Miami crowd to take title

Victoria Azarenka surprised the crowd in Miami by stunning No. 1 in the world Serena Williams to win the Sony Ericsson Open, her third and biggest title of her career.

The No. 11 seed won a tough semifinal against No. 8 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova to get to the final, and the Top seed won to older sister and No. 5 seed Venus in three sets to get to the final. Williams was the favorite, as she was going for her third title in Miami in a row. But the Belorussian stopped the American after winning easily with a score of 63 61.

"It was such an honor to play Serena, she's just the greatest player for me," Azarenka said in near-disbelief during the trophy presentation. "Serena's a great champion. I love the way she plays and the way she is. I really wanted another chance to play her because in Australia we unfortunately couldn't finish.

"I was so nervous in the last game. I couldn't believe I had match point. I was thinking, 'If I win this point, I don't even know what would happen next.' And then I double faulted. I'm just happy I could close it out in the end."

"Even when I was down match point I thought I could still win; I didn't really know how, but I thought it was a possibility," Williams said. "I think she has really, really improved. I actually look forward to playing her again so I can do better. I'm not that bummed because I feel like there's next week and next year, then there's the year after and the year after. I definitely have it in me to try to tie that record, and then ultimately beat it."

The head-to head result between the two is now 2-1 Williams.

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Singles - Final

(11) Victoria Azarenka (BLR) d. (1) Serena Williams (USA) 63 61

Serena wins all-Williams semi; Azarenka up next for crown

No. 11 seed Victoria Azarenka was going for her first Sony Ericsson Open final and possibly title of her career, and after she beat No. 8 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, the Belarussian could be the first of her nationality to win the tournament, but first she will have to defeat No. 1 seed and rank Serena Williams, who fought hard against her older sister Venus, and won in three sets.

Azarenka had won the first set, but lost the second, and in the third, she got a break, and served for the match at 5-4, even having a match point at 40-30, but then Kuznetsova broke back to equal it, and again Azarenka got a break, where she would serve out the match, winning with a score of 63 26 75.

"The second set didn't go so well for me, but I still hung in there and played for every point, no matter what," Azarenka said. "When it got back to 5-all, I just thought that I had to keep going, no matter what. She played well on the match points, so it's not something I lost. I'm so happy I found the energy to fight at the end. It wasn't so much energy in the last few games, more like adrenaline. It was getting really, really tough to even walk through the last points."

Serena was fighting against her sister Venus, as she had won the first set, lost the second and fought to win the third. The match was over with a score of 64 36 63. Now the sisters are tied at 10-10 in head-to-head results.

"It's definitely good to even it up. I would love to be in the lead again," Serena said of the Williams head-to-head. "I was also thinking I'd love to remain No.1, so obviously I'm really excited about that. I think I was more happy about that than winning the match at the end. I'm really happy to get over this one."

"It was a well-fought match. My serve wasn't going as well as I wanted but she brought a lot of balls back and played really tough," Venus said afterwards. "When I come to a tournament I come to win. So I'm disappointed
right now. But I'm looking forward to working hard and doing better next time."

The only two meetings Azarenka and Serena had were both in the Australian Open, in 2008 and 2009, where Serena won both of them. But let's see. Things could change after the match.


Thursday, April 2, 2009

Singles - Semifinals
(1) Serena Williams (USA) d. (5) Venus Williams (USA) 64 36 63
(11) Victoria Azarenka (BLR) d. (8) Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) 63 26 75

Williams sisters to clash in semis for final berth

Serena and Venus Williams have again set up a battle against each other for a final berth, after Serena's tough opponent led her to three sets, and Venus crushed her opponent easily in straight sets.

Top ranked and seeded Serena faced Li Na in her quarterfinal match, and the Chinese didn't give up, as she won the first set, but didn't have enough strength to close it out in the second, or the third, so the American eventually won with a score of 46 76(1) 62.

"I'm glad to have gotten through," Serena said. "I've played a lot of Chinese girls this week, wow. It was definitely a new experience. And hey, it's obviously good for the US Fed Cup team. They're all obviously really consistent. They hit a flat ball and keep it low. They're good players, as everyone is on the Tour."

No. 5 seed and three-time champion Venus defeated No. 26 seed Iveta Benesova, after the Czech was up 4-1 in the second set, with a score of 61 64.

"Sometimes when things aren't going your way, the games start going so fast because everyone out there is good," Venus said. "Fortunately it wasn't a double break. That may have been a little tougher to come back from. I look at it as one break - I don't look at it as the score is 1-4."

The sisters have played 19 times before, with Venus leading 10-9. Venus won their last two meetings, and if she wins this one, Serena will lose her No. 1 ranking spot, to current No. 2 in the world Dinara Safina.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Singles - Quarterfinals

(1) Serena Williams (USA) d. Li Na (CHN) 46 76(1) 62

(5) Venus Williams (USA) d. (26) Iveta Benesova (CZE) 61 64

Kuznetsova reaches semis; Azarenka crushes Stosur

The first semifinal spots were booked on Tuesday in Miami, as No. 8 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova won her quarterfinal match to No. 13 Caroline Woznaicki after splitting sets and then taking the third easily.

Kuznetsova, who won her three years ago, was leading 64 52, but then the Dane made a comeback and took it to a tiebreak, where she won it with a score of 7-5. In the final set, the Russian was in great form and took it with a score of 61.

"I came here after losing first round two tournaments in a row. I was practicing and preparing well, so when I came here I was so disappointed," Kuznetsova said. "I haven't lost two first rounds in a row as long as I can remember. So for me here, it was really important to just play match by match. Now I'm in the semis, and I'm really happy. I'm just going to concentrate on the semis now."

No. 11 seed Vicroia Azarenka spent the shortest time on court, as she took only 57 minutes to crush Samantha Stosur 61 60.

"It feels great. I've been playing very well the last four weeks. I want to keep going," Azarenka said. "Sam has a great serve and my return was very important today. I was hitting it very well and starting to put pressure on her right away."


Tuesday, March 30, 2009

WTA Main Draw Singles - Quarterfinals
[8] S Kuznetsova (RUS) d [13] C Wozniacki (DEN) 64 67(5) 61
[11] V Azarenka (BLR) d S Stosur (AUS) 61 60