Victoria Azarenka plays through the pain to upset Elina Svitolina in Doha

Victoria Azarenka dealt with more than she imagined during her quarterfinal match with Elina Svitolinat at the Qatar Total Open.

Victoria Azarenka battled pains, double faults, and the competition to pull off a huge victory at the Qatar Total Open Thursday night. From before the first point to the last, the Belorussian did her best to stay in it and beat top-seeded Elina Svitolina 6-2, 6-4 on centre court at the Khalifa International Tennis Centre. 

This marked the fourth time the two met and their first since 2019. Since Rome, the top seed had yet to defeat the Belorussian but her momentum in Doha earned her the best chance. Azarenka played her last two matches with a slow pace but got through them with a strong offense. The 31-year-old had the advantage of playing less tennis than Laura Siegemund, using all her efforts to swiftly get through the second round. Svitolina came out swinging well against Misaki Doi in Wednesday’s opening round. With the top seed still eyeing the title in Doha, she would need to find a way through the former world number one. 

Before the match got underway, the eighth seed called for the physio to deal with an issue she had. Svitolina opened service but had a few issues with the first serve causing errors. The break went to Azarenka but it was clear that the 31-year-old was in discomfort. With two games to go before the changeover, the eighth seed powered through with Svitolina trailing. She caught up to deuce as the Belorussian struggled to get through her service shots. 

With double faults becoming too much, umpire Marjia Ciciak decided best if the game was paused and the physio come to check Azarenka out. A lower back issue was the cause and soon required a medical timeout. Once it was concluded, play resumed with Azarenka serving at deuce. Two points were played with Svitolina taking the break back, but her serve faced opposition from the Belorussian, who stepped into the shots instead of running to them. Errors were becoming a huge problem for the number one seed failing to hold her service together. 

Azarenka opened the third with short points against Svitolina, who lost focus due to Azarenka’s physical issues. The ailing eighth seed continued to fight through the pain, taking a 3-1 lead with the service hold. Svitolina struggled to fight off the issues and erred to give free points and eventually the triple break. Azarenka chugged along to hold serve despite going to deuce, but as she got many balls in, the Ukrainian struggled to get them back. 

When she served to stay alive in the set, Svitolina battled back the errors and got some points in. With help from Azarenka, the number one seed got through her first service of the set. The 31-year-old served for the set working the crosscourt winners while keeping the points short. Svitolina got on the board, it was too late as Azarenka reached set point to take the first in 40 minutes. 

Svitolina did better to hold serve to open the second set, but the momentum was still with Azarenka who had a handle on her injury. She held serve in the second and took to answering Svitolina in the rallies, earning a 2-1 lead. The injury troubled her in the fourth, causing her to commit a fifth double fault on deuce. Svitolina gained the AD point and painted a shot away from Azarenka’s comfort zone to level. 

The Belorussian picked up the double break in the set’s third service break right before she walloped Svitolina with a serve to love in the sixth. It was the one that broke Svitolina, who struggled to answer in eight of the last nine points played. Azarenka continued her points streak with three break points before the top seed got one to go her way. She got another one, but it didn’t change the result as the Belorussian moved up 5-2 to serve for the match. 

For the second time in the set, Azarenka refused to sit during the break and instead stretched out her back to keep up the determination she had going. Svitolina also had some of her own and responded by pressuring the eighth seed to lose her control and the game. Azarenka gave it right back, battling back Svitolina who tried to consolidate the break back but went to deuce instead. 

A double fault nearly took Svitolina out of the competition but an error from Azarenka brought the game to deuce for the sixth time. The Ukrainian got back on the AD point and moved into the court for the point winner bringing her within reach of a tie. Just when it looked like she saw the third set on the horizon, Azarenka kept her end of the court together, forced errors from the Ukrainian, and made her third match point count. A 13 shot rally concluded with a line drive winner that brought the match to a close in 1 hour and 27 minutes. 

The 31-year-old didn’t bother to sit down and let the applause from the fans keep her going. “I have to thank the crowd because if it was an empty stadium it would be really hard to push, but I tried my best and tried to focus on what I could do,” Azarenka said. Despite the issues, she would face the winner between Garbine Muguruza and Maria Sakkari in Friday’s semifinal.