Victoria Azarenka takes second round at GDL Open

Victoria Azarenka remained focus during her second round match against Dayana Yastremska at the GDL Open. 

Victoria Azarenka had the offense to hold back the challenges at the GDL Open on Tuesday night. The former world number one won in straight sets against Dayana Yastremska, aiming the shots just where they needed to be in a 6-4, 7-6(5) result on Estadio Akron De Tenis at the Panamerican Tennis Center.

The two met twice, making their third hard court battle one for control of the series. Between the two, the 34-year-old had a stronger outcome, rushing through her opening round. The Ukrainian faced a bitter challenge in her straight sets win over Ana Sofia Sanchez that took two hours to complete. Both of their previous meetings were decided in two sets, but since Azarenka leveled the history, she had the best chance of coming out on top.

The Ukrainian had problems with the forehand service, racking up double faults early in the match. She gave Azarenka a fight but wasn’t in a position to break. Three double faults came off big for Yastremska in the third, tallying five total before giving the 34-year-old the break. The tenth seed opened the gap holding serve, only to see the Ukrainian staying in touch.

With the break in hand, Azarenka kept at most a two-game lead on Yastremska, who did stay on serve, but the tenth seed played strong to finish it and close out the first set in 55 minutes. Though the 34-year-old performed better late in the set, her five double faults made the battle with Yastremska difficult. The 23-year-old had six to her name, but her opponent won the lead on first-serve points with 13 of 16.

After taking some time off the court, the Ukrainian returned to open service in the set. She added a break to make a statement, but the tenth seed broke back to get on the board. She backed up the break on serve in the fourth, holding back the competition. They remained even through six games, getting back on serve to make every game tight.

Yastremska was playing better in the set, taking charge on both sides of the court. In the eighth game, she drew errors from Azarenka, earning the break to love and a shot at forcing a decider. Azarenka denied her the chance to serve to get it done, fighting to force the set deeper and produce chances. She stopped the Ukrainian from achieving set point twice in the tenth before holding it from her end.

Yastremska didn’t let the lost chances get in the way, setting up the pressure for Azarenka in the 12th. She forced errors by the 23-year-old to push a tiebreak into place and try to bring the match to a close. The forehand shot was working well for Azarenka, continuing to draw errors from the Ukrainian, but after four points, it was even. The score remained tight, but a big crosscourt winner for Azarenka set her up for match point at 6-5. Yastremska double-faulted for the tenth time on the day to give the tenth seed a way out of a tight finish that took two hours and nine minutes to finish.