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.
ANFIELD BLUES: Kylian Mbappe arrived at Anfield on a run of 21 goals in 17 games, but he managed just three attempts in the match, none of them hitting the target Kylian Mbappe has been nearly unstoppable this season, but he hit a roadblock in their UEFA Champions League match at Anfield on Tuesday. For the second year running, the Real Madrid forward had a night to forget at Merseyside as Liverpool won 1-0. Mbappe looked a shadow of the player who has been tearing defenses apart all season. “We were lacking that threat in the final third,” said Madrid coach Xabi Alonso, without naming Mbappe individually. The FIFA World Cup winner for France rarely looked capable of finding a breakthrough against a Liverpool team who have been so defensively fragile for much of the
LOCAL SUCCESS: In the doubles, Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in straight sets Elena Rybakina on Monday punched her ticket to the WTA Finals last four with an impressive 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 victory over second seed Iga Swiatek in round-robin play in Riyadh. After cruising past Amanda Anisimova in her opener on Saturday, Rybakina claimed her second win of the week to guarantee herself top spot in the Serena Williams Group. Anisimova on Monday rallied back from a set and a break down to triumph 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in her all-American battle with seventh seed Madison Keys, who has been eliminated from the competition. “Madi was playing so well, it was quite a battle out there,”
Erling Haaland on Sunday scored twice to propel Manchester City up to second in the English Premier League with a 3-1 win over AFC Bournemouth. The Cherries started the day in second thanks to the longest unbeaten run in the English top flight, but Andoni Iraola’s side were undone by the scintillating form of the Norwegian striker, who took his tally to 13 Premier League goals in 10 games. Haaland’s relentless streak is maintaining City’s title challenge as they reduced the gap to leaders Arsenal back to six points and edged one point ahead of Liverpool, who they face at the weekend. “Important
For almost 30 minutes, Vitomir Maricic did not take a breath. Face down in a pool, surrounded by anxious onlookers, the Croatian freediver fought spasming pain to redefine what doctors thought was possible. When he finally surfaced, he had smashed the previous Guinness World Record for the longest breath-hold underwater by nearly five minutes. However, even with the help of pure oxygen before the attempt, it had pushed him to the limit. “Everything was difficult, just overwhelming,” Maricic, 40, told reporters, reflecting on the record-breaking day on June 14. “When I dive, I completely disconnect from everything, as if I’m not even there.
RSS