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Victoria Azarenka has ended Madison Keys’s unbeaten start to the year, coming from a set down to defeat the 10th seed in the Australian Open third round.
Key points:
- Azarenka won in three sets, 1-6, 6-2, 6-1
- Keys was considered to be among the secondary favourites in the women’s draw
- The win was Azarenka’s 45th at Melbourne Park
Keys wilted amid a flurry of unforced errors as two-time champion Azarenka fought back to win 1-6, 6-2, 6-1 on Rod Laver Arena.
In doing so, 33-year-old Azarenka, a former world number one, reached the last 16 at Melbourne Park for the 10th time in her career.
“She (Keys) came out firing from all corners and I felt like I was just rushing a little bit too much,” 24th seed Azarenka said in her on-court interview.
“I couldn’t really get into the rhythm and I was just trying to fight for every point, trying to turn the match around. It worked really well.”
Keys, the 2017 US Open runner-up, lost to Ash Barty in the semifinals at Melbourne Park last year and was among the secondary favourites this time around.
The American was unbeaten at the United Cup and looked to be cruising against Azarenka when she breezed through the first set.
But Keys made 14 unforced errors in the second set and 17 in the third, finishing with 39 for the match, more than double her Belarusian opponent’s total of 18.
“My serve just wasn’t working in the beginning and I feel like she’s going to step in and crush the ball,” Azarenka said.
“I just tried to do a little bit more, change a little bit my positioning on the court, add a little bit of pace on my shots and really try to take a little bit more momentum into my hands.
“She was going for everything and it was hard for me to find the rhythm but I felt like I started to serve better, started to serve smarter, and use my second shot a bit better.”
Azarenka’s win was her 45th at Melbourne Park and gave her a perfect 4-0 career record against Keys.
“She’s a great player, she’s a great friend and I’m sure we’re going to play more matches,” Azarenka said.
“We’re always playing tough matches. It’s never easy.”
AAP
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