Well Hello, Mona!

Mona Barthel first knocked on the door of fame early last season when she captured her maiden WTA crown in Hobart. However, many remember her for her brave performance at Indian Wells, where she was on the brink of ending the unbeatable run of world number 1, Victoria Azarenka. Although 2012 had many ups and downs, it was a great year for Barthel who also reached two semifinals at Bastad and Quebec respectively. 

Putting her breakthrough year behind her, Mona started the new year strongly, reaching a second consecutive final in Hobart where she lost to Russian Elena Vesnina. After a disappointing first round exit at the Australian Open, the 22-year-old regrouped quickly to lift her first Premier title. The big-hitting German experienced a fairytale run in Paris, recording wins over Italian Roberta Vinci, Frenchwomen Marion Bartoli and Kristina Mladenovic, as well as Vinci's doubles partner, Sara Errani, in the final. 

With two top 10 victories under her belt and a new career best ranking at 28, Mona is edging closer to the top of the women's game. She definitely has the shots to win big matches, so if she continues to improve and adds some consistency to her performances, I am sure she will definitely be among those to watch in the upcoming months.

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Azarenka Finds True Grit

This year has been more or less an all Azarenka affair, the Belorussian winning all three tournaments she entered, seldom being troubled or having to recover from extremely dangerous situations. Riding on an impressive 17-0 record in 2012, the world number 1 began her Indian Wells quest in imperious fashion, rising to what seemed an untouchable 6-4,5-1 lead against German riding star, Mona Barthel. If there was a dimension of the game where Azarenka showed vulnerability, it was her ability to close out an encounter. As she did when the duo met at the Australian Open, a bit of stumbling proved costly for Victoria, who saw her advantage being drastically reduced by her tenacious opponent. If in Melbourne she limited the damage by serving out a straight sets victory, this time around she failed to do so, allowing Barthel to level in the second set. With momentum on her side, the 21 years old German sealed the set in the tiebreak before building a 4-1/ 5-3 advantage in the decider. On the brink of defeat, the WTA leader showed just how determined  she is to keep her winning streak alive. Although she struggled with her groundstrokes and serve, Azarenka fought hard to succumb Mona, coming from behind to eventually win the battle 8-6 in the tiebreak.

I think this triumph is so important for Victoria not only because she maintains her impeccable record this season, but mostly because it shows just how must this player has grown mentally. In the past, the loss of the second set would unleash tremendous frustration, which would eventually cost her the match. As she very well stressed, "I could have been already beating myself up somewhere in my house after losing. But I'm here and I got through, and that's a good sign ... to win when you're not playing your best, it's more joyful." 

Having successfully completed her first big test of the year, Victoria looks now even more impressive than before. If she can carry on this attitude and maintain such true grit in the future, it would take something spectacular to stop her in her attempt to add all the big prizes to her resume.

Mona Barthel came really close to becoming the first player to beat Azarenka in 2012, as she led 4-1/ 5-3, but eventually failed to serve out the match twice in the decider.

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