Victoria
Azarenka maintains her undefeated record against
Jelena Ostapenko with a 6-1,
7-5 victory, advancing to the fourth round of the 2024
Australian Open. This
marks the 11th time that the Belarusian has reached the second week in
Melbourne, a tournament she won in 2012 and 2013.
Azarenka
(No. 22) and Ostapenko (No. 10) contested one of the most compelling matches in
the third round of the women's singles, being one of the two matchups that
featured two seeded players (Sabalenka – Tsurenko being the other), with both
players being former Grand Slam champions.
On her way
to the third round, Ostapenko secured two victories against local players,
first against the wild card Kimberly Birrell (No. 116) with a score of 7-6(5),
6-1, and in the second round against Alja Tomljanovic (No. 271) with a score of
6-0, 3-6, 6-4. Former world No. 1 Azarenka went the distance in her two matches
against Camila Giorgi (No. 53) winning 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, and then against the
22-year-old Clara Tauson (No. 96) winning 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.
In the
first set, Azarenka started strongly, securing an early break in the second
game of the match and quickly taking a 3-0 lead on her serve. While Ostapenko
managed to win her first service game, she became erratic afterward, and
Azarenka easily won the set 6-1 in just 26 minutes.
Ostapenko
attempted to control the baseline rallies and move the Belarusian around the
court in the second set. However, Azarenka displayed high precision, recording
9 winners and only 2 unforced errors, compared to Ostapenko's 6 winners and 13
unforced errors.
In the
second set, Azarenka faced uncertainties when Ostapenko took an early lead of
5-2 after securing a break. Azarenka then showcased her resilience and
demonstrated why she is one of the best returners on the tour. She capitalized
on Ostapenko's second serves to find winning shots and won four consecutive
games to lead 6-5.
In the 12th
game, Ostapenko had four break points in her favor, but Azarenka held her
ground and secured the victory 6-1 7-5. Azarenka claimed her 50th win at the
Australian Open and her 160th in a Grand Slam. In the fourth round, she will
face the Ukrainian surprise, Dayana Yastremska (No. 93), a 23-year-old who
shocked the 7th seed Marketa Vondrousova in the first round and followed it
with consecutive victories against Varvara Gracheva (No. 39) and the 27th seed
Emma Navarro.
