Victoria Azarenka clears her path to the third round in straight sets at the US Open

Victoria Azarenka celebrates a hard-fought win in the second round of the US open against Marta Kostyuk

Victoria Azarenka used her experience and focus, to get through the second round at the US Open Thursday. The 26th seed held back Marta Kostyuk in straight sets with a 6-2, 6-3 score on Court 17 at the Billy Jean King National Tennis Center. The Ukrainian had 23 winners, but 31 errors allowed Azarenka to conduct her own game and ease into victory.

It was their first meeting and one that had tension due to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. Kostyuk worked hard in her third main draw appearance, edging Mayar Sherif in straight sets. In the hopes of matching her 2020 run and beyond, she would need to adjust to the level Azarenka brought to the court. The 26th seed almost had a clean breakaway in straight sets when she led 4-1, but a fightback from Ashlyn Krueger, pushing the match to three sets, where the 33-year-old locked down the victory. Knowing that she couldn’t let a slip-up like that happen again, Azarenka had to stay focused and not let the current status of their respective countries get in the way of tennis.

Both got into the motions holding their serve, until the third game when Kostyuk gave herself opportunities to break. Azarenka worked through the fight at deuce, holding after a couple of breaks that denied her opponent any AD points. The 33-year-old had no problems giving back the adversity, earning double break point before closing Kostyuk out on serve. The Ukrainian kept her intensity high, dealing heavy returns at the former world number one. Her push to deuce went four breaks, but each time she blew the breakpoint, she had Azarenka to thank.

The 26th seed gained a 4-1 lead on the Ukrainian, who put together a better service game in the sixth but sat two games down. Playing every point, Kostyuk was on Azarenka until the late part of the seventh, when she hit solid shots that put the threat aside. The 33-year-old kept the offense high, going for the set against Kostyuk, who could only watch her opponent take away the first set in 40 minutes. The Ukrainian had 16 errors and winners, leaving too much room for Azarenka to work with.

She couldn’t shake off her inconsistencies, giving Azarenka dictation on winning 10 of the first 14 points. She led 3-0 on the Ukrainian, who ran side to side, trying to return the cross courts. A double fault didn’t make it easier for Kostyuk, who handed Azarenka another win. A relief for the Ukrainian arrived, getting ahead of the 33-year-old to earn the break of serve in the fifth.

She fought back while on serve, finding the points on redirects away from Azarenka, who ended up taking the air out of her opponent and serve for the match. The Ukrainian denied the 26th seed a way out on serve, gaining a second victory in the set. Kostyuk got into trouble on serve, when she double-faulted, giving Azarenka two match points. She saved both in response, forcing deuce to hold on a return miscue.

The 20-year-old had a lot going right for herself, but errors in the ninth opened the door for the 26th seed to walk away. Using the hard forehands, Azarenka took the Ukrainian out of the competition with a winner to end her day on court in 1 hour and 27 minutes.