Victoria Azarenka fights her way to a straight sets win over Jasmine Paolini at the US Open

 

Victoria Azarenka expressed her competitive spirit on the court against Jasmine Paolini in the third round of the US Open. 

Victoria Azarenka worked hard to make sure she advanced at the US Open Wednesday. The three-time finalist was tested in the second set by Jasmine Paolini, who pressed the Belorussian to earn her 6-3, 7-6(1) victory on Louis Armstrong Court at the Billy Jean King National Tennis Center. 

The Italian had the odds stacked against her more than her opening round at the Open. Facing Azarenka, who was last year’s finalist and put up a strong win over Tereza Martincova was to be an immeasurable task. The 25-year-old confidence got a jump in her second appearance at the slam, making it past the first round. Though the Italian didn’t have a forehand that could match the Belorussian, handling the serve of a former world number one was the key to her coming through with an upset or falling hard and out. 

Paolini opened service and managed to hold against Azarenka, but once the 32-year-old got the balls in hand, she was cocked and locked. The Belorussian cruised through her service and followed into the third, breaking Paolini. She made it three in a row with a service hold in the fourth, but the Italian put her opponent’s winning streak to rest. Feeling settled in, Paolini took the next two games to keep close with Azarenka and not let her run away. 

Azarenka held in the eighth, ready to put the pressure on the 25-year-old and close the first. Gaining two set points, the former world number one played a rally and set up a winner that pained the line to complete the set in 32 minutes. The Italian’s second serve was non-existent in the set, making it a vulnerable problem that led to the early result. 

She followed suit with Azarenka in the second, but the difficulty was still in fine form against her on court. Though she broke the Belorussian after holding in the second, the 31-year-old broke back and made it a 3-2 advantage. Paolini went down another game with her second serve having won a single point so far. She worked the good parts of her game to break Azarenka back and keep her within reach. 

The Italian held on tight during her service in the eighth and score a victory that leveled them at four-all. Azarenka got out of a dramatic finish to the ninth game when she forced Paolini to err and lead 5-4. The pressure was all on the Italian, as she stayed neck and neck with Azarenka until an error brought up match point for the 18^th seed. The Belorussian hit a return long of the baseline that instead took the two to deuce. 

Paolini painted her shot accurately near the far sideline before she scored a winner on the next rally to level the score once more at five-all. The Italian was hitting the forehand harder and with confidence, that was above her size. A couple of hits got away from her that led Azarenka to move ahead 6-5, hoping that she could stop a tiebreak from coming into play. The 12^th was a fight for the two with the Italian playing as the stronger of the two. 

Azarenka tried to break into position for match point, but her second attempt was all she got and Paolini wouldn’t give it to her. After four breaks and nearly nine minutes of play, the 25-year-old pressed the Belorussian into a tiebreak for a shot at sending them the distance. The 18th seed carried an advantage going into a tiebreak as she had the experience handling her Italian opponent. She took the first three points and force an error from Paolini for a fourth. The Italian won the fifth point to get on the board, but Azarenka answered with a net-front smash. They switched sides where the 18^th seed scored back-to-back points on errors from Paolini that earned her a place in the third round. 

 “It was important to play well because she was making some unbelievable shots so I really had to hang in there and try to make opportunities and take them away from her,” said Azarenka after the match. “I felt like I had some to close it out but she played well and felt that I could do a little bit better and I’m glad that I finished really strong.” 

It was a 1 hour and 44-minute battle against an Italian, who made some incredible returns and made her mark on the world stage to be a future threat. For Azarenka, she would not get a break as she moved into Friday facing Garbine Muguruza. “Sometimes it’s easier to play someone you know than someone you don’t so I think it’s just one match at a time, and it will be exciting for both of us.”