Victoria Azarenka rallies late to win at Ostrava Open

Victoria Azarenka clenches her first during a second-round match against Barbora Krejcikova at the J&T Ostrava Open Wednesday.

Victoria Azarenka overcame a tough start at the J&T Banka Ostrava Open but advanced into the quarterfinal on Wednesday. Barbora Krejcikova put up a great fight against the fourth seed but let go of control in a 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 score on Centre Court. Azarenka won 14 of 16 breakpoints that were a huge advantage towards her victory to begin the tournament. 

The Belorussian gets back to the hard courts for the first time since her US Open final match. Despite losing out on her third chance for the grand slam, the 31-year-old was happy enough with her improved skills dominating. Despite not facing Krejcikova before, the world number 14 looked to get the jump in Czechia and finish the WTA season strong. The 24-year-old carried some adversity against the former world number one winning her last three matches at the tournament not dropping a set. Getting the edge on Azarenka would be a shining moment for Krejcikova and stand out as a dark horse. 

Both had a good start with their opening service, holding one another off before Krejcikova responded big in the third. The returns she delivered to Azarenka caused the server to fall but rose to force deuce. The two played through two breaks but in the end, it was the 24-year-old with her big returns to get the break. Consolidating the break gave the Czech a 3-1 lead on the former world number one, scoring easy points down the lines. 

Azarenka fought to contain service, needing time on deuce where a crosscourt smash secured the fifth. After returning her two-game lead to the scoreboard, Krejcikova consolidated the hold of serve with a critical break of Azarenka. The backhand shots she fired across court did serious damage to earn her the double break and serve for the set up three games. 

The Belorussian let out a scream of frustration after committing her third unforced error of the set and down 0-30. Krejcikova reached a triple set point where a forehand crosscourt put the first away in 39 minutes. The 24-year-old had 20 winners in her success serving 73 percent and committing just six errors. With her actions bettering that of the fourth seed, Krejcikova had the potential to make things worse. 

Azarenka opened the second set with a much-needed service hold. Despite taking eight minutes to get it done, the fourth seed made sure she was on top at the start. Krejcikova answered with a hold of her own before taking it to the Belorussian in the third. It was the longest of the match as the Czech refused to give Azarenka a breeze on serve and fought through deuce. After four breaks, the fourth seed managed to find the victory that kept her ahead. 

Krejcikova had yet to face a break in the match and on her serve in the fourth, Azarenka attacked to force deuce where she canceled out her opponent’s AD point and brought up one of her own to be the winner. The fourth seed wasn’t done fighting as her serve was challenged in the fifth with Krejcikova forcing deuce. The two battled for eight minutes and five breaks until Azarenka held as her third AD point was the charm. 

By the seventh, it was the 31-year-old in place for the set taking a 5-2 lead on the Czech who saw her offense being figured out. Krejcikova’s nerves rattled her completely out of order as she struggled to get to some points and then erred with a ball into the net ending the second in 54 minutes. She tallied 15 errors in total and never won a breakpoint in her eight attempts. Though she outnumbered Azarenka on winners for the second time, it came down to control which the Belorussian carried well. 

Krejcikova left the court for more than the normal amount of time during a set break causing Azarenka to ask why the long wait. The 24-year-old returned to action where the fourth seed opened the set with a service hold. Despite being 15-40 down, the Czech rallied back to force deuce and manage a hold to keep with Azarenka. 

The Belorussian marked her first serve to love of the match, showing tremendous focus with her big forehand power shot. The fourth seed consolidated with a break of the Czech, opening a 3-1 lead. Azarenka was in control, gaining a third consecutive game over Krejcikova who let her return game slip away and produce more errors than she wished to see. 

The serve didn’t help her recover, allowing Azarenka to take another for the break and serve for the match at 5-1. It was an easy push for the Belorussian who watched as one of her points hit the net and rolled on top before falling into Krejcikova’s end. She reached three match points, letting one go and put things away in 2 hours and 11 minutes.

"She was a tough one to play," Azarenka said after the match. "She played really well and the court suit her game really well taking a lot of opportunities and advantage of that and had to adjust my game." "My fighting spirit pushed myself to try and find a way and that was the key. I felt that she was a step ahead of me and I stepped it up."