Victoria Azarenka came out on top in a highly challenged match at the US Open late Monday night. The former world number one earned it well against Karolina Muchova 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 on Louis Armstrong Stadium at the Billy Jean King National Tennis Center. It marked her tenth straight match and a place in the quarterfinals.
This was the first meeting for the two and a key for the unseeded superstar. In her 50th career US Open match, the Belorussian faced her second-seeded opponent in her quest to make the quarterfinal for the fifth time. In her way was the 20th seeded Czech who appeared her third straight third round, going deep against Sorana Cirstea. It was a tiebreak in the final set that put these two on a collision course for her to push further. With Azarenka carrying a nine-match winning streak, the 31-year-old used to action in New York would try and stay with Muchova for the duration.
She fell into trouble early as Muchova broke her in the opening game and held through deuce to make it 2-0. The former world number one got on the board with a serve to love but her Czech opponent opened the gap back to a pair of games. She made it three with a double break secured making it the largest gap anyone had earned against her in the tournament.
Just when it looked as if momentum was the key for Muchova to close in on the set, a critical double fault opened the door for Azarenka to break back in the sixth. The 31-year-old scored a much-needed hold in the following game but Muchova was on the ball reaching 5-3 to fight for the set. Playing defense, Azarenka was forced to deuce by the 24-year-old but only went two breaks to clinch the hold.
The comeback was looking very good for the Belorussian who had three break points in the tenth but lost two of them as Muchova wanted to hold and stop her. She forced deuce once again but despite five chances and three of them blown, the set marched on with Azarenka level. Muchova broke back to take the lead but another on serve would be needed to avoid a set tiebreak. She locked down the hold in the 12th that ended her long fight to secure the first after 57 minutes.
Azarenka opened the second with a service hold but it was a long uphill battle to go. Muchova tried to follow suit but had to come back and force deuce again. It was four break battle that saw the Belorussian hit long on the returns that led to a hold. The 31-year-old answered with a strong serve to love and consolidated it with a break leading 3-1. Azarenka was surging the victories together as her fourth straight led to a momentum that inched her close to a decider.
The former world number one dictated another break from the 20th seed in the sixth and closed out the second swiftly 6-1 in 34 minutes. The surge that occurred for the two-time finalist put Muchova on noticed that her slip up changed the tide for Azarenka to make a serious run at victory in the third. Before that could occur, Muchova called for the physio and left the court to receive a medical timeout for her left leg.
She returned to open the third seven minutes later with service coming from her end. Allowing just two points, Muchova ended the opening game with a straight shot smash. Azarenka followed along with a hold of serve but she wanted another break that didn’t come easy. Having two break points early, Azarenka couldn’t close it up and was forced to go for it again on deuce. The two spanned nearly 11 minutes and five breaks until Muchova’s leg pain caused her to fall a game down.
She took a medical timeout on court before getting into the fourth with Azarenka on serve. A key break for Muchova leveled the score before a big hold gave her the lead back. The 31-year-old kept things on serve as her opponent set the bar and reached it. She broke the Czech in the seventh after a double fault cost the 20th seed. A crosscourt forced error made it 4-3 for the Belorussian who hoped that this was the key to running away with the match.
A hold put the Czech in trouble as she sat two games down with Azarenka closing in on a quarterfinal spot. In the ninth, Muchova saved match point to force deuce with the Belorussian and hold after two breaks. The former world number one was back on serve for the match and reached three match points before easily putting a tough one away in 2 hours and 30 minutes.
“She played unbelievably,” Azarenka said to Andrew Krasny during her on-court interview. “She was getting to the balls and bringing them back and I had to dig in and bring some aggression so it was really tough and so much fun.”
She’ll play against Elise Mertens for the first time. “It’s gonna be a fun match,” she said. “I’ve played against her in doubles but it should be another fun time on the court.”
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