Australian Open: Victoria Azarenka wins late shift against Zhu
Two-time Melbourne winner Victoria Azarenka has once again reached the quarterfinals.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Jan 22, 2023, 04:23 pm
When Azarenka converted her final backhand cross pass at 2:17 a.m. local time, she cheered energetically. No wonder: The game against the surprise woman Lin Zhu was extremely competitive, with the better end for the ex-number 1.
Despite the apparently clear first two rounds, it was a tight match with many games over the debut - the playing time of 2 hours and 40 minutes speaks for itself. In the third set alone there were only breaks up to 3:3, until Zhu held her service for the first time.
Azarenka finally made the decisive break to make it 5: 4, then fended off two more break balls and converted her first match point.
She now faces Jessica Pegula, the highest seeded player left in the tournament. Azarenka won the Australian Open in 2012 and 2013.
Zhu, ranked No. 87 in the world and never further than Round 2 in a major, surprisingly beat third-seeded Maria Sakkari in Round 3.
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