DOHA: Former world number one Victoria Azarenka of Belarus yesterday rallied from a set down to beat multiple Grand Slam winner Venus Williams of the US to set up a mouth-watering final clash against Lucie Safarova at the Qatar Total Open.
Azarenka, who picked up a wildcard to enter the Doha event, yesterday beat seventh seed Venus 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 to reach the final of the $731,00 tournament.
“ It was a great match and I am very happy to win against Venus,” Azarenka said after winning her semi-final win.
“ It was a tough match as Venus was not willing to give any point. I had to fight very hard”
A jubilant Azarenka also acknowledged the crowd support.
“ It’s been very good to play in Doha and I love the crowd who gave me a huge support.”
Venus said she was up against in-form players this week.
“I felt like every player I played just played literally at the top of their game. It was just one of these weeks where everybody just played amazing,” Venus said.
“So I’m hoping that in the next coming weeks it won’t be like that. It’ll be a long year if every opponent I play is just this much on top. It shows a level of competition and how much people want to win this event,” the seven-time Grand Slam champion said.
Earlier, in the first semi-final Safarova of the Czech Republic crushed Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain 6-3, 6-2 in 77 minutes on the Centre Court.
Today unseeded Safarova will attempt to win the 2015 Qatar Total Open title and the top prize of $124,000 to complete her dream run in Doha.
The title clash today will be the first one in 2015 for the Czech who advanced to the quarters at Antwerp and Dubai.
Safarova, the Wimbledon semi-finalist, achieved her best result in Doha on Thursday when she reached yesterday’s semi-final.
“It is so exciting and I am so relieved to have reached the final. I have been playing so well this season,” left-handed Safarova said.
“I am really very happy,” the 28-year-old added. “It hasn’t been a struggle. I lost a couple of close matches,” Safarova said.
“It (the losses) happen sometimes but I have worked really hard in the off-season. So I am enjoying my tennis.
“Yes, I would watch the second semifinal. I am not too concerned who I play in the final. I will try to enjoy the final and get the win,” Safarova said.
The Czech broke the Spaniard’s serve in the second game of the first set and was rarely troubled by her opponent.
She dropped her serve just once, in the seventh game of the first set, but immediately broke back to restore her advantage and served out for the set straight after. Safarova is currently ranked number three in the Czech Republic behind Petra Kvitova and Karolina Pliskova.
The world number 15 bagged her first Grand Slam title last month when she won the doubles title at the Australian Open with Bethanie Mattek-Sands. Two-time champion Azarenka struggled with her rhythm in the first set but the tall left-handed picked up her game in the second set to set the tone for the rest of the match that lasted more than two hours.
In the second set, Azarenka broke Venus in games 5 and 7 to launch her comeback while in the third set, Azarenka broke Venus in games 1 and 3 before taking the decider at 6-4.
Azarenka fired seven aces in the 2 hour 17-minute match.
Today’s title clash will be the third for Azarenka who hasn’t played a final on Tour since she lost to Serena Williams in Brisbane last year.
By virtue of her win yesterday, Azarenka has now extended her win streak in Doha to 14 matches. Ranked 48, Azarenka is now playing under new coach Wim Fissette. It was Azarenka’s first win over Venus in five meetings.
THE PENINSULA
Doha: Victoria Azarenka is in contention to win the DiamondBall trophy, given to a player who wins the Qatar Total Open singles title three times. Azarenka won the Qatar Total Open title twice- 2012 beating Sam Stosur in the final and 2013 defeating Serena Williams (she was entered in 2014 but was forced to withdraw following an injury). Azarenka accounted for Venus Williams in the 2015 semis in three sets to make the final where she will play Czech, Lucie Safarova.THE PENINSULA
