Bartoli ends Azarenka's 26-match winning run
Source: Agencies |
March 30, 2012, Friday
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VICTORIA Azarenka's 26-match unbeaten streak across the first three months of the year ended on Wednesday by Marion Bartoli, who beat the world No. 1 in straight sets in the quarterfinals of the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida.
Azarenka's streak, which included her Australian Open title, was the best on the women's tour since Martina Hingis went 37-0 to begin 1997.
Bartoli's semifinal opponent will be Agnieszka Radwanska, who beat a tired Venus Williams 6-4, 6-1. Radwanska, ranked a career-best No. 4, is 0-4 this year against Azarenka and 24-0 against everyone else.
In the men's quarterfinals, No. 2-seeded Rafael Nadal continued his bid for his first here by edging No. 6 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-2, 5-7, 6-4.
Nadal's semifinal opponent will be 2009 champion Andy Murray, who overcame an upset stomach and early deficit to beat No. 9-seeded Janko Tipsarevic 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Azarenka'd unreliable serve and atypical mistakes from the baseline doomed her against Bartoli.
"I'm a human, not a superwoman, and I wish I could be, but I'm not," Azarenka said with a smile. "I feel disappointed, sure. Who wouldn't be after the loss? But what I've done in the last couple of months, I have to be really proud of myself."
The steady Bartoli took charge of rallies by playing inside the baseline. "Sometimes I took the ball extremely early," she said. "It was almost table tennis."
The other semifinal will be between Caroline Wozniacki and Maria Sharapova, a three-time Key Biscayne runner-up.
Venus Williams was weary after winning three consecutive three-set matches in her comeback tournament. It was her first tournament since the US Open last August, where she withdrew after being diagnosed with a fatigue-causing autoimmune disease.
"It was disappointing not to be able to feel my best today," Williams said. "I was able to keep it close in the first set and try different strategies, but it was definitely a mental battle, and today I didn't conquer the mental part of it."
"It has been a great tournament," she said. "I'm disappointed and would have liked to have gone further, but it's a great start."
Azarenka's streak, which included her Australian Open title, was the best on the women's tour since Martina Hingis went 37-0 to begin 1997.
Bartoli's semifinal opponent will be Agnieszka Radwanska, who beat a tired Venus Williams 6-4, 6-1. Radwanska, ranked a career-best No. 4, is 0-4 this year against Azarenka and 24-0 against everyone else.
In the men's quarterfinals, No. 2-seeded Rafael Nadal continued his bid for his first here by edging No. 6 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-2, 5-7, 6-4.
Nadal's semifinal opponent will be 2009 champion Andy Murray, who overcame an upset stomach and early deficit to beat No. 9-seeded Janko Tipsarevic 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Azarenka'd unreliable serve and atypical mistakes from the baseline doomed her against Bartoli.
"I'm a human, not a superwoman, and I wish I could be, but I'm not," Azarenka said with a smile. "I feel disappointed, sure. Who wouldn't be after the loss? But what I've done in the last couple of months, I have to be really proud of myself."
The steady Bartoli took charge of rallies by playing inside the baseline. "Sometimes I took the ball extremely early," she said. "It was almost table tennis."
The other semifinal will be between Caroline Wozniacki and Maria Sharapova, a three-time Key Biscayne runner-up.
Venus Williams was weary after winning three consecutive three-set matches in her comeback tournament. It was her first tournament since the US Open last August, where she withdrew after being diagnosed with a fatigue-causing autoimmune disease.
"It was disappointing not to be able to feel my best today," Williams said. "I was able to keep it close in the first set and try different strategies, but it was definitely a mental battle, and today I didn't conquer the mental part of it."
"It has been a great tournament," she said. "I'm disappointed and would have liked to have gone further, but it's a great start."
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