Victoria Azarenka notches another win at Citi Open

Victoria Azarenka gives the crowd a wave of thanks after her two set match with Tereza Martincova at the Citi Open. 

Victoria Azarenka faced challenges on the court but came through at the Citi Open Friday. Tereza Martincova gave it her all in the delayed round of 16 matchup but fell in a 7-6(7), 6-2 score on Grandstand Court at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center.

In a victory over Dayana Yastremska Monday, the fourth seed takes on the Czech for the second time and the first since the US Open last year. Azarenka managed to blank Martincova similarly as the Ukrainian, hoping that she had the same results and move into the quarterfinal. The 27-year-old came into Washington with a 1-9 first-round record in her last ten tournaments. The match against Xinyu Wang took Martincova over two hours to defeat the Chinese star. Earning two days off gave her time to recover as she planned to give it her all and level the series with the former world number one.

Martincova opened service and battled Azarenka through every point. The 33-year-old forced deuce and fought hard to produce an AD point. All three achieved went the way of the Czech, who managed to save face and be out on top in the opening game. Azarenka had a rusty start that led Martincova to achieve the break and a 2-0 lead. The fourth seed recovered, drawing errors from the Czech to break back in the third.

Azarenka backed up her lone win with a service hold that leveled the score despite some issues that she expressed verbally. The next two games saw each of them contain service, but in the seventh, Martincova was up 40-0. Azarenka saved two game points but was cut short of forcing deuce. Azarenka put together the best game of the set, charging shots hard at the Czech, who struggled to keep up.

With the score tied, Martincova finally achieved an easy service to love against the former world number one, setting up a chance to break and take the first. Azarenka refused to give in and started the tenth with some big point wins against the Czech. A double fault and an error hindered her chance to secure the serve. She fought back to gain the AD point, watching Martincova fail to get the ball back across the court.

The 11th game was a tug of war for control as neither wanted to be trailing going into the last game of the set. Martincova tried to close it at 40-30, but the 33-year-old forced long drawn out deuce. Both players spanned six breaks, with Azarenka finding chances through half of them, but on the final point, it was the Czech securing the service. The fourth seed held her end to bring up a tiebreak, but Martincova was still out in front.

An ace for Azarenka made it three-all and her moment to sit in front of Martincova. It was a short-lived moment for the former world number one, as she found herself close to the Czech through the next five points played. On her first set point attempt, Azarenka suffered a tough break from Martincova, who made a statement on a winner.

With the score tied, they continued until a lob from the fourth seed had the 27-year-old on the ropes. On a second set point attempt, Azarenka clinched the first with a crosscourt winner that capped her lead after an 80-minute battle. Both players combined for eight double faults, with Azarenka recording five. The 33-year-old won 73 percent of points from the first serve, indicating she had enough strength to fight on.

The second went the way of the 33-year-old, who opened scoring with Martincova on her tail. Once the game point was at hand for Azarenka, the fourth seed capped the game and went right into the second, breaking Martincova late. She had the Czech pinned down while she backed up the break for a 3-0 lead, following the same route two days ago. Azarenka soon had a commanding 4-0 run on Martincova, who couldn’t find her way across the fourth seed.

In the fifth, the 27-year-old dug in against the service of Azarenka but watched her opponent force deuce. Despite the missed opportunity, Martincova battled to break the fourth seed and get on the board. She held serve, splitting Azarenka’s lead in the sixth. The loss of two games didn’t break the spirit of the 33-year-old, who was determined to cross the finish line and enter the quarterfinal. Winning the seventh game was huge for the fourth seed, getting the job done on serve to pressure the Czech.

Martincova carried the lead in the eighth but was forced to deuce by the 33-year-old. They went through four breaks where the 27-year-old saved two match points. She continued to gain AD points, but a low fast winner from Azarenka brought it back to deuce. A forehand return painted the baseline for a third match point that went into the net during the final rally ending a two-hour fight.

Despite so much effort put in to her day, she guaranteed herself another aganst Xinyu wang for a spot in the semifinal. All depended on whether the weather would hold up enough for them to get into action or face a potential doublheader Saturday.