Victoria Azarenka won her first Grand Slam title and became the new world No. 1 when she thrashed a disappointing Maria Sharapova in the Australian Open final yesterday.
The third seeded Belarussian overpowered the 2008 champion to win 6-3, 6-0 in 82 minutes to lift the trophy and become the fourth women’s first-time Grand Slam winner in a row.
“I can’t wait to be back next year, I’ve had an amazing month in Australia. It’s a dream true,” Azarenka said.
Photo: EPA
Azarenka came from 0-2 down in the first set to win 12 of the next 13 games for a comprehensive victory, as Sharapova’s game disintegrated in the face of all-out aggression from the Belarussian.
Sharapova made 30 unforced errors, while Azarenka played almost flawlessly at times with only 12 errors across the two sets.
“As in any sport you have your good days you have your tough days and you have days where things just don’t work out. Today Victoria was just too good,” Sharapova said. “It all comes down to the last two athletes, winner takes it all after all the players in the draw. I’ve had great wins here and I’ve had tough losses, but there’s no doubt I’ll be back.”
Azarenka won the toss and chose to serve, but she started nervously and dished up two double faults on her way to dropping the first game.
Sharapova consolidated to open a 2-0 lead and got to 0-30 on Azarenka’s next game, but the Belarussian seemed to shake off her nerves and slowly took control.
She stepped up to the baseline and took the ball early, pressuring Sharapova into mistakes, and soon Azarenka was dominating in all departments, matching the Russian’s power from the baseline and volleying confidently.
The 22-year-old broke back in the fourth game and broke again in the eighth before confidently serving for the first set.
And Azarenka started the second set with the same self-belief, breaking Sharapova’s first serve and coming back from 15-40 to hold her own and open a 2-0 lead.
Sharapova was becoming increasingly frustrated and, unusually for the three-time Grand Slam winner, she began to look to her coach Thomas Hogstedt in frustration.
However, Azarenka was in full control and she broke Sharapova twice more to go to 5-0 lead.
The Belarussian stepped up to serve for the championship, saving a break point and falling to her knees in delight when a Sharapova backhand crashed into the net.
Azarenka, who won the girls’ singles crown in 2005, became only the third woman in the open era to win the junior and senior titles at the Australian Open after Evonne Goolagong Cawley and Chris O’Neil.
She is also the first Belarussian to win a Grand Slam title, going one better than Natasha Zvereva, who finished runner up at the French Open in 1998.
Sharapova has now been runner-up at two of the past three Grand Slams, after losing last year’s Wimbledon decider to Petra Kvitova.
The three-time Grand Slam winner had been attempting to win her first major title since coming back from major shoulder surgery in October, 2008.
Azarenka will be confirmed as world No. 1 in the new women’s rankings released next week, ending Caroline Wozniacki’s long stay at the top.
BOYS
Australian Open boys’ champion Luke Saville blamed “raw emotion” yesterday after he swore in his acceptance speech on center court.
The 17-year-old Australian beat Canada’s Filip Peliwo 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 on Rod Laver Arena to go one better than last year, when he was defeated in the final by Czech Jiri Vesely.
After being presented with the trophy by Australian great Ken Rosewall, the top seed told spectators that winning the final felt a “shitload” better than losing.
Saville, who hails from Cobdogla, a country town of just 232 people in South Australia, admitted later he should probably have chosen his words more carefully.
MEN
In the men’s final today, defending champion Novak Djokovic will take on Rafael Nadal.
Djokovic saw off brave Andy Murray in five thrilling sets on Friday to stay on course for his third straight major title.
In a marathon match of 4 hours, 50 minutes, nudging the tournament record, the Serbian top seed stormed back from a set down to win 6-3, 3-6, 6-7 (4/7), 6-1, 7-5 and set up his meeting with Nadal.
Jonas Vingegaard on Tuesday claimed the overall Vuelta a Espana lead while Jay Vine earned the stage 10 victory for his second triumph of the race. Two-time Tour de France winner Vingegaard overhauled Torstein Traen’s lead to head the general classification by 26 seconds from the Norwegian, with Joao Almeida third and trailing the Dane by 38 seconds. Vine put in an unmatchable performance on the final climb to finish ahead of Spanish Movistar riders Pablo Castrillo and Javier Romo. “Back in red, I’m happy with it, it’s a beautiful jersey,” Vingegaard said. “I’m happy with how the day went,
Australian Alex de Minaur reached the second week of the US Open for the third year in a row with little fanfare on Saturday and said he intended to keep winning until the tournament organizers were forced to give him better billing. Despite being the eighth seed and a quarter-finalist last year at Flushing Meadows, De Minaur’s third-round match against German Daniel Altmaier was scheduled for Court 17 — the smallest of the four stadium venues in the precinct. “It is a little bit of a headscratcher for me. I’m not gonna lie,” he told reporters after progressing 6-7 (9/7), 6-3, 6-4,
RIVALRY: Carlos Alcaraz lost his previous two matches against Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, in the Australian Open quarter-finals this year and Paris Olympics final last year Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday dazzled at the US Open to make the semi-finals before Novak Djokovic of Serbia danced his way through to book a New York showdown with the Spaniard that would mark the latest chapter in their generational rivalry. Former champion Alcaraz produced yet another entertaining display at Flushing Meadows to dismantle 20th seed Jiri Lehecka 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 at a sunbathed Arthur Ashe Stadium, securing his place in the last four without dropping a set this year. “Sometimes I play a shot that I should not play in that moment, but it’s the way I love
Spain are in danger of not getting out of EuroBasket Group C after losing 67-63 to Italy on Tuesday, but the defending champions still control their destiny. Marco Spissu put Italy in front for good at 64-63 with two free throws with 31 seconds left and made two more with 14 seconds remaining. Giampaolo Ricci converted one of two free throws with eight seconds on the clock. Spain, which in 2022 won their fourth title, are tied with Georgia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina at 2-2 each. Greece and Italy have clinched two of the group’s four spots in the round-of-16,
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