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| Victoria Azarenka celebrates during her quarterfinal match against Elise Mertens at the J&T Banka Ostrava Open Friday. |
The two met last month at the US Open where the Belorussian shattered the Belgian’s hopes to surpass the round of eight. Azarenka allowed Mertens just one game in their matchup which shocked many as the 31-year-old carried a surge that some thought would end right there. Despite her missing out on a slam title, the tennis mom hasn’t let the shortened season stop her from succeeding as world number 14.
She went the distance in her opening round with Barbora but recovered nicely with a sweep of the next two sets. Knowing that she might not get the same result against Mertens twice, the former world number one was prepared for anything with the semifinal on the line.
She watched as Mertens rushed to break Azarenka for the opening break. The Belgian consolidated the early lead with a strong serve that would be her best tactic for staying ahead of the fourth seed. The 31-year-old got on the board with a hold in the third but Mertens remained firm on serve, notching another to lead 3-1. Azarenka stepped up her service, handing the seventh seed just one point in the fifth to sit a game down.
Her attempts to break Mertens were strong, putting plenty of pressure on the seventh seed that took them to deuce. Three breaks were played with the Belgian managing to deny a breakpoint to Azarenka and hold serve. She gave it right back on her opponent’s service game, forcing deuce on the sixth point. The Belorussian shut Mertens down on a breakpoint chance and held.
In the eighth, the fourth seed leveled the score with a big push that flopped Mertens for a break. Azarenka consolidated with a hold in the ninth, bringing a moment for her to keep up the attack and go for the set. The 24-year-old defended her end but an error from the forehand gave Azarenka the break needed to take the first in 51 minutes. It was the 16th unforced error committed by the seventh seed that affected her strengths. Azarenka’s serve percentage surged to get her through the set with the win that saw her score 12 winners and half a dozen unforced errors.
As the second got underway, the Belorussian had a tough opener with Mertens all over her through every point. It took Azarenka two attempts to lock down the game which led her to believe another fight was underway. Mertens held well in the second indicating her wish to go the distance. Azarenka stepped up her offense giving up one point to the seventh seed, hoping to remain consistent. In the fourth, the 31-year-old dug into place, attacking Mertens with the crosscourt power shots that earned her the break for a 3-1 lead.
When she returned to service, the fourth seed fired line drive winners as finishing touches to rallies that ended with her up three games. Azarenka was ruthless in the sixth where she gave little for Mertens to counterattack and served for the match with a 5-1 stance. Though the Belgian tried to force more tennis into the set, Azarenka took care of things on deuce, gaining the AD point on an error from Mertens before getting the win. It was a 90-minute performance by the former world number one, getting her way into the semifinal.
“She played some really great points and I had to adjust a bit,” Azarenka said during her on-court interview. “I didn’t feel like I was doing much wrong, she was just hitting a lot of winners and I just stuck in there and applied pressure because I know that it’s not easy to play the whole match hitting winners. That’s what I was trying to focus on, to be aggressive to take the opportunities and that was really good.”
She’ll face Maria Sakkari on Saturday who has been on a run of eliminating big names. “She’s going to be very difficult,” said Azarenka. “She’s a great player, she’s a great fighter, gets to a lot of balls and it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
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