 | « Back to article | Print this article |
Top seed Victoria Azarenka stormed into the last four of the Indian Wells WTA tournament with a ruthless 6-0, 6-2 demolition of Agnieszka Radwanska, improving her record this year to 21-0.
Australian Open champion Azarenka outplayed her Polish opponent from the baseline, coasting through the opening set in 25 minutes and racing to a 5-0 lead in the second before being surprisingly broken.
Though fifth-seed Radwanska then held serve for the first time in the match, Azarenka served out to clinch a one-sided victory in just over an hour when her opponent netted a forehand.
The pony-tailed Belarusian clenched her right fist in delight as she looked at the players' box, having moved into joint second place in the all-time standings for the best start to a WTA Tour season.
Swiss Martina Hingis leads the way with 37 consecutive victories to launch her 1997 campaign while American Serena Williams, with 21 in 2003, and Azarenka are next best.
"I was really impressed with the way I played today," a beaming Azarenka said in a courtside interview after improving her record to 9-3 against Radwanska. "I didn't expect to win that way. I'm proud how I fought hard and played winning tennis.
"I was just really focused on every moment, on every point I played, on every ball I was striking. I didn't really think about the score," added the 22-year-old, who converted six of her 12 break points.
The Belarusian World No. 1 will next face Germany's Angelique Kerber, who upset eighth seed Li Na of China 6-4, 6-2 after one hour 23 minutes in Wednesday's night session.
Kerber broke Li twice in the opening set and three times in the second, completing her first win over the Chinese in four career meetings when her opponent hit a backhand service return long.
