Belarus has managed to defeat the combative Zhu. Azarenka had to draw on experience to beat the Asian (4-6, 6-1, 6-4) and enter the last eight at the first Grand Slam of the season.
tournament draw
tournament results
The tennis day on Sunday closed at Open Australia duel in the women’s draw. Victoria Azarenka vs. Evan Zhu. Belarus was defeated by Keys in three sets and Zhu surprised Sakkar in a tournament that was one of the revelations. It was the first match between the two, with the winner facing third seed Jessica Pegula, who, after the eliminations of Swiatek and Jabeur, was the heavy favorite for the title at the first Grand Slam of the season.
Vika Azarenka continues her victory in Australia
Zhu opened with a break that sent her 2-0 up, although Azarenka responded to make it 3-2. The problem for Belarus is that her opponent played very solidly and moved Azarenka, who was not comfortable hitting the ball. The Chinese chained three more consecutive games, which brought him to 5-3. The fault was in the ropes in the first set and even though Zhu tightened to 4-5, in the end Zhu 6-4 gave the first blow of the match and was closer to another surprise at the Australian Open.
Azarenka reacts best at the beginning of the second set. Belarus started to bring out its best version and by succeeding in the decisive moments, it went up to 5-0. Zhu was able to even the score by winning the sixth game in white to make it 1-5. On the other hand, Vika didn’t give more options to the Chinese and that’s why 6-1 in 43 minutes ended up forcing the last set.
The third period started full of options. Up to six consecutive breaks were seen and none managed to force their serve. Trailing 3-3 after six consecutive breaks, Zhu 4-3 took the lead on the scoreboard. Azarenka withstood the pressure and after two consecutive games in the second break, she was left with a 5-4 victory. It was hard for him, and Zhu brought out that pride again. The Chinese got two break points, but he didn’t take advantage of them and eventually pthe first ball of the match, Azarenka closed her fist and achieved a wonderful victory to reach the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.
