The marquee second-round encounter between Victoria Azarenka and Caroline Wozniacki didn’t sell as many Margaret Court tickets as it had been expected, but the clash provided the tight battle tennis fans hoped for and the unseeded two-time Australian Open champion is through.
In a seven-minute opening game, Azarenka broke Wozniacki’s serve and went on to lead 3-0. Wozniacki’s stretch followed, as the Dane even had a break point for 3-3, but there was no conversion on her side and Vika was still in the lead, 4-2. However, Caro’s fortune was about to change soon, as Vika couldn’t close out a 40-0 advantage on serve and five points later the women were tied at 4-4. In the end, Vika took command again and this time capitalized on the lead, serving it out for 6-4 in the first set. The second set was a quicker affair, as Vika forced Caro to work so hard for her points, and after going 3-1 up initially, she never let that lead slip, finishing the match 6-4 6-2.
This is the first time Wozniacki has lost before the third round of the Australian Open, while Azarenka has now recorded her first Top 10 victory in over a year. And it had to be celebrated with a heart-winning dance! 🙂
Here are my favorite tweets about the match. All by Ben Rothenberg.
Wozniacki serve called out. Fan: “Bullshit!” Chair umpire Fergus Murphy: “Thank you, sir.” #wozarenka #AusOpen
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) January 22, 2015
A fan shouts “GO RORY!” and Wozniacki responds by hitting an ace to hold. Still trails 2-3 in the second. #wozarenka #ausopen — Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) January 22, 2015
(photo by LaWanda)
hahaha. i wanted caroline to wine but happy for vika. i saw the match live, it was awesome!
aww… i wanted caro to win 🙁 i wish it went at least to 3 sets :/
Jacob, Sru, pity they met in R2 already, but at least the match fulfilled the expectations. Oh with this long-sleeve shirt, Vika’s outfit is really too much. Without it it’s OK.
Sad for Caro but so pleased to see Vika back.
Sabey, we all know there has to be one winner. Caro may think she’s cursed and she actually hates it that she lost despite giving a good fightback.
“I think it’s a curse I’ve gotten here. I’ve made semis, then quarters (2012), then fourth round (2013), then third round (2014), this year second round.
“It’s kind of gone that way the last few years. Hopefully I’m going to break that next year and start going the other way.
“A loss is a loss. All losses suck. It doesn’t feel fun to be here right now.
“I would rather completely suck and play terrible and win than play wonderfully and lose. I’m a competitor. It hurts to lose.”
This is a good win for Vika. She needs more match wins under her belt this year. I have high hopes for her. I know she can rebound again and be in the elite Top 10 soon