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Serena Williams Defeats Victoria Azarenka at Wimbledon 2015

On an overcast day at SW19, Serena Williams defeated Victoria Azarenka 3-6 6-2 6-3 to put her two matches away from her sixth Wimbledon title. In the match she displayed the resilience and determination which has resulted in an incredible 20 Grand Slam titles.

In their twentieth career meeting, Victoria Azarenka and Serena Williams were facing each other  each other for a semifinal berth in Wimbledon. Williams was chasing the Grand Slam as she had already won the Australian and French Open. Azarenka was on the comeback trail after an extended absence due to injury but was now back to her best form.

Their most recent meetings were tense three set affairs. In Madrid, Azarenka held match points before losing and in Paris, she was a set up only to lose in three. Williams had only lost once throughout the year and had managed to win Roland Garros even though she was suffering through a cold.

Azarenka looked sharp early on and she was aided by a malfunctioning Williams’ forehand. Despite facing a couple of break points early on, she quickly raced into a 4-1 lead and struck forceful, flat groundstrokes into both corners. Williams was sharp and her serve was good but Azarenka’s return was a force to be reckoned with. Azarenka’s groundstrokes are so disciplined and she gets down to the ball so well that Williams’ power was absorbed and sent back.

The Azarenka serve was particularly effective in the first set as she made 72% of her first serves and won 83% of those points. Meanwhile, Williams’ serve was picked off by Azarenka and the returns moved Williams too far wide to be effective.

Serving at 2-5 Williams was 15-40 and faced two set points. She erased them with a forehand winner and another forehand onto the line. A vocal Williams screamed ‘come on’ as she held on to make Azarenka serve out for the set. Serving out for the set, Azarenka pulled out some big serves and an intense rally in which Azarenka hit a wide backhand which proved too much for Williams led to another set point. A forehand winner down the line from Azarenka sealed the set, 6-3, as she thumped her chest and looked to her camp which included Sascha Bajin.

Williams looked to asset her authority early on with a solid hold but the Azarenka serve was also up to the task and Williams couldn’t find a way into her service games. Serving at 1-2 the quality of the tennis shot up and spectators were exposed to the tennis of the tournament. Williams’ determination to get into the game meant that she dug out ball after ball as Azarenka pummelled them into the corners. Williams earned her first break point of the set but Azarenka managed to retrieve enough to earn the error. Despite a barrage of break points Azarenka held on and placed the pressure squarely back on Williams’ shoulders.

Azarenka held a break point at 2-2 which was erased with a huge second serve. Williams started to threaten constantly as Azarenka served at 2-3 and got the all important break as she stretched for a backhand out wide and dipped the ball to Azarenka’s feet. Williams looked close to tears in the next game with anguish on her face as she double-faulted and made an error to give her opponent two break points back. However, with big serves and focus she held on and took a commanding 5-2 lead. The key to the second set was how Williams tightened up her game as she struck 15 winners and just 3 unforced errors. Williams’ ability to raise her game is unparalleled and this was in evidence throughout the second set. She carved out a set point as Azarenka served to stay in the set at 2-5 and duly converted as Azarenka hit a forehand into the net to take it 6-2.

In the third set Azarenka’s first serve percentage dropped and as a result so did her ability to compete. Williams applied pressure by returning with surgical precision and put extreme pressure on Azarenka. As she earned her first break point of the set she said aloud to herself ‘come on Serena, come on’ and converted on a Azarenka backhand which went well wide. From that point on Williams accelerated away as she struck winner after winner and left Azarenka in the dust on the baseline. She hit three aces in a row as she served at 4-2 which gave her a total of seventeen for the match. Simply put, she reached another level which Azarenka was powerless to reach. Serving out for the match she hit three aces and as the Azarenka forehand went wide she jumped up and down in delight. At the net she received a warm embrace from a smiling Azarenka.

Williams’ win today was impressive because she overcame an opponent in Azarenka who can really trouble her. She maintained her composure throughout the match and kept focussed on the task at hand. If she is to do the Grand Slam this year it is important for her that she get through these tough matches and bolster her confidence with them. With such a match under her belt, the title is now just two matches away.

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