Brave Azarenka Too Frail For Rutheless Serena

When Serena Williams was announced as the 28th seed (an outrageous decision to say the least), the top ranked players started to shake. In trying to reward them, the WTA officials ended up by doing the top 16 players a big disfavour, as they were now faced with the prospect of bumping into Serena in the third round. When the draw was announced, all except Azarenka breathed with relief. The young Belorussian, one of the strongest candidates for the Flushing Meadow title, was the unfortunate one.
Facing a rather dark perspective, the unlucky Victoria made everything possible to prepare for the big battle. In her goal to ensure a long New York journey, she opted to focus on singles alone, pulling out of the doubles competition, thus giving up a great chance of achieving Grand Slam glory alongside partner Maria Kirilenko. In her first two rounds, Azarenka was quick, strong and utterly dismissive, crushing past Johanna Larsson and Gisela Dulko. To add to her distress, so was Serena. She was even more convincing in her 6-1,6-1 defeat of Bojana Jovanoski and her 6-0,6-1 win over Michaella Krajicek. With the much-awaited showcase getting underway, the American took charge immediately. By unleashing powerful serves and precise groundstrokes, Serena made Victoria looked like a lamb ready to be slaughtered. She won the first set 6-1 and looked set for a commanding win when she held three consecutive match points at 5-3 in the second. It was the point when brave Azarenka threw caution to the wind and started going for her shots. Some superb hitting from the Belorussian saw her push the set to a tie-break. Unfortunately for her, in the end Serena's raw power prevailed.
Although she might be a bit disappointed by how things turned out, Victoria can be very proud of what she achieved in the last part of her encounter with Williams. Judging by the level of her game, I don't think any player could have provide a tougher challenge for the American. The way she leveled the match showed pure brilliance. She definitely has Grand Slam stamina. All it takes is a bit of luck and a consistent fortnight and Azarenka should be able to achieve her ambition. After this display, Serena became the undisputed favourite for this year's US Open crown.

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