Alycia Parks achieved a milestone moment at the Mutua Madrid Open Friday. The 22-year-old pulled off the upset against 15th-seeded Victoria Azarenka, winning in straight sets 6-2, 7-6(5) at Arantxa Sanchez Stadium at La Caja Magica. It was the first big win for the American, who stayed tight in the late stages to move into the third round.
The two faced each other for the first time, with the American entering the biggest event of her career and handling it. The 22-year-old went the distance against Anna Karolina Schmiedlova to put herself in good standing after losing eight of her last ten. The American’s fight would require more from the tennis veteran, who earned a pass and had time to get situated. Despite clay not being her strong suit, the former world number one had a shot to make the third round against a young opponent with a short list of action against top players.
Parks opened the match with good service, preventing any chance for Azarenka to get in. The 15th seed followed suit but saw her opponent keep pace and contain her side of the court. A threat for the 22-year-old arrived when Azarenka suffered two double faults in the fourth. She overcame the lost points and force deuce, but Parks rallied to gain an AD point and seal the break.
Just when things were going well, Parks suffered double faults that gave Azarenka three breakpoints. The American fought all the way to deuce and captured the first AD point to hold serve and lead 4-1. The 22-year-old tallied another break of the 15th seed, allowing one point won by Azarenka. Nerves got to Parks, who served for the set and suffered two double faults. It opened the door for Azarenka to break back and stay alive.
There was alot more to be done, but a double fault from the 32-year-old made that harder in the eighth. Parks struggled to capture the set point chances, but a forehand winner on her second attempt put an end to the set in 41 minutes.
Parks ran into the second set crushing the competition, holding serve, and watched Azarenka double fault twice in the second. When it felt like another runaway was in the making, the 15th seed rallied to break back in the third. She called for the trainer and doctor to come down to the court while serving the fourth. Azarenka took her time during serves, dealing with an ailment of sorts, going on to win the serve.
She had to wait till the change of ends before seeing the medical staff, leaving Parks to serve out the fifth. She shot straight on while Azarenka watched the shots zip by. The American took the 3-2 lead, then waited for Azarenka’s medical timeout to finish. The 15th seed got up to serve in the sixth, holding off Parks to stay level on the scoreboard. The 22-year-old dictated well in the seventh, scoring an ace before blanking the former world number one for the lead.
Azarenka stayed the course with Parks, holding serve and having no further complications of the physical kind. They got to six-all, where a tiebreak went into action. The 32-year-old had the advantage of being highly experienced in tight moments. She took the first two points before the American scored a minibreak. She tallied another pair with help from Azarenka, who suffered errors from the forehand. Parks anted up and scored back-to-back aces that brought up a match point. The 22-year-old stayed cool and got the job done in an upset of the 15th seed that took 1 hour and 47 minutes.
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