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| Anna Kalinskaya swings a forehand return at Victoria Azarenka during their round of 16 match at the Credit One Charleston Open. |
Anna Kalinskaya pulled off a huge moment in her clay court career at the Credit One Charleston Open Thursday. The world number 70 had never beaten a top 50 player on the surface until her 6-4, 7-6(5) win over Victoria Azarenka gave her a Top 10 win on clay and a spot in the quarterfinal. Her first serve and points won from it gave her a leg up on Althea Gibson court at the Family Circle Tennis Center.
Both players met for the first time and come off long matches two days ago where both went the distance in their competition. Azarenka turned things around against Sloane Stephens, holding the American in the final two sets. Kalinskaya played 3 hours and 10 minutes with Alize Cornet, going to a first-set tiebreak, then fighting for the win in the deciding set. With a lot of effort put in to get to the round of 16, the 24-year-old was warmed up for a fight against the sixth seed.
Kalinskaya fought through every point in the first, delivering big returns to Azarenka that forced the game to deuce. After three breaks and 12 total points, the 24-year-old succeeded with the early break. She went on to back up the early lead, holding the sixth seed on serve in the second. Azarenka found her footing on serve in the third, limiting the number of points played in the third. She got into a groove to break back in the fourth and built together a three-game streak.
Kalinskaya got back on track to level the score, but Azarenka remained in check to hold serve. The 24-year-old answered back in the eighth, scoring a love service to the 33-year-old. Kalinskaya pulled off a key break at the business end of the set to lead 5-4 and serve for the lead in the match. She easily took care of the tenth, losing a point in the last three games, holding two set points to Azarenka to cap the first in 49 minutes.
The rapid buildup in the final moments of the set was all that the 24-year-old needed to do after committing two double faults. Winning points from the first serve that struggled were her saving grace to capture a grip against the former world number one. Azarenka turned it around, keeping her service in check against the 24-year-old. Kalinskaya managed to hold the sixth seed a point better on serve than her opponent did and vice versa.
The fifth game showed some challenges for Azarenka, but the sixth seed managed a hold of serve to keep Kalinskaya off a break chance. The 33-year-old pushed her opponent in the sixth on two break-point chances. The 24-year-old saved both to force deuce and hold serve through two breaks. Through eight games, the two players remained on serve with one another, keeping the fight for control tense.
Kalinskaya upped the ante, tallying her second shutout of Azarenka in a break to love. Much like how the first set concluded, the 24-year-old had a shot at taking the match and trying to cap her first top-50 win on clay. Azarenka denied Kalinskaya the opportunity, bringing big smash shots and aggressive responses in the tenth to push on. At the start of the 11th, the sixth seed suffered an injury but powered through to hold serve.
Kalinskaya tried to get a tiebreak in place but was forced to deuce after making a miscue on game point. Her last two hits were wide of the tramlines, but relief came when Azarenka erred on the next point. Three more were played until Kalinskaya achieved victory to send the set to a tiebreak with Azarenka. The sixth seed won the first three points before the 24-year-old got into it. She crept her way into the action, leveling the score at four-all, showing a resurgence against the former world number one.
Waiting for her moment to strike, Kalinskaya took the next two to reach match point. The two played a ten-shot rally until a wide slice from Azarenka put a pin in her week on the green clay, giving Kalinskaya a huge milestone to enjoy after investing nearly two hours on the court.
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