Victoria Azarenka cruises to defeat Xinyu Wang at Qatar Open

Victoria Azarenka hitting a forehand shot during the second round of the Qatar TotalEnergies Open. 

Victoria Azarenka improved her game to handle the second round like a boss at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open on Tuesday. The 34-year-old battled through the talent of Xinyu Wang, holding her in straight sets 7-6(1), 6-2 on center court at the Khalifa International Tennis Complex. It marked her 193rd win in WTA 1000 events and a spot in the round of 16.

The former world number one didn’t have the greatest opening and instead struggled with numerous unforced errors to barely make it through the first round. She needed three against Magdalena Frech to get it done, and facing the Chinese star would be the same level of skill. The 22-year-old got the best of Beatriz Haddad Maia, who was tired from her run at Abu Dhabi days back. Given that she won so fast, Wang had plenty of gas in the tank to continue Azarenka’s early exits in Doha for a third time.

The two started the match holding serve, but more grip from Wang, who recorded several winners. After a two-all score, the 22-year-old jumped ahead and played through deuce tightly, watching her opponent make the mistakes to take the first break. Azarenka broke back in the sixth but suffered a double break of serve after the seventh. Wang had a tough service in the eighth, double-faulting twice and somehow forced deuce. Azarenka kept her deep and responded to a drop shot near the net to smack a winner for the win.

The 34-year-old ended the streak of four breaks of serve, backing up the double break she got on Wang to hold the ninth. She played for the set, only to see Wang recover her service tactics and hold to make it five-all. She added a break to lead after 11 and served for a chance to drop Azarenka a set down. The 34-year-old moved her opponent around during the rallies to deny her that chance and bring the tiebreak.

She forced errors from Wang twice to lead the way but suffered a long ball on the third point. Azarenka continued to force errors from the Chinese player, gaining her fourth that widened the gap. Back-to-back winners gave the former world number one so much breathing room to achieve a set point. On her second attempt, Wang was forced to play defensively and sent one wide to lose the first in 56 minutes. Azarenka was solid near the net, where she won seven of nine and three of four breakpoints, including the minibreaks in the tiebreak.

She built up the depth on court against Wang, scoring the early breaking, then fought to hold serve. Azarenka was all over the competition, forcing Wang to play extra balls and captured the double break. Leading 3-0, the 34-year-old backed up the effort to hold the fourth, inching closer to a shutout. Wang fought back the forced errors that Azarenka was pushing for in the fifth. Gaining control of serve in the fifth ended the scoreless streak in the set but the six-game run for Azarenka.

The 34-year-old battled in the sixth to get a fifth win under her belt, with Wang hitting the returns well. Despite forcing deuce, Azarenka waited patiently until an error from the 22-year-old got her out of a tough place and in a position to play for the match. Wang refused to let it happen on serve, making it a 5-2 score before calling out the trainer. The Chinese star had her foot tapped up before Azarenka cracked out a big serve to reach three match points. A shot went long, but her second attempt clinched it to end the match in 1 hour and 41 minutes.

“It was pretty fun to play against her,” Azarenka said about Wang. “She’s a great player, and also very young, so I’m sure she’ll improve her game.” “She definitely has a lot of power and can actually create some variety, which surprised me, but I think she developed a success she has had in doubles, and pretty fun to play against her.”

Azarenka awaits a potential face-off with Jelena Ostapenko for the third time this season but will have to defeat Anhelina Kalinina to make that possible on Thursday.