adminagainst the American.
Azarenka will give up the No 1 ranking to the second-ranked Williams on Monday but extended her current winning streak to 14 matches, which included her second Australian Open title. More importantly, she may have turned around what has been a one-sided rivalry against Williams. Azarenka had not beaten Williams since 2009 in Miami, and had a 1-11 record against the American going into Sunday’s final.
“It feels incredible,’’ Azarenka said. “You know, this tournament is really great. It had such a strong field going into it, and I’m really glad that in the end of the week I’m the one who’s holding the trophy.’’
Azarenka broke to go up 2-1 when an erratic Williams hit one of her four double-faults in the first set, but the American ensured it was back on serve after eight games.
Williams struggled with her first serve throughout the first set and hit 26 unforced errors, but still had a set point at 6-5 in the tiebreaker.
However, she hit a poor forehand into the net, and Azarenka then converted her first set point with a great return.
Williams dominated the second set with her powerful serve and forehand, while Azarenka could only hit 39 percent of her first serves.
Azarenka fell behind 0-30 in the first game of the decider but recovered and took a 3-0 lead. Williams then saved a match point at 5-2 to stay the match, but Azarenka clinched the win on her next service game when Williams hit a forehand wide. —AFP.
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