Miami Open: Azarenka sets up final date with Kuznetsova

Stutters but dispatches Kerber in straight sets in semi-final

MIAMI: In-form Victoria Azarenka battled past an ailing but determined Angelique Kerber yesterday to set up a Miami Open final showdown against Svetlana Kuznetsova.

With the 6-2, 7-5 victory, the 13th-seeded Belarusian gained revenge for a quarter-final loss to the second-seeded German at the Australian Open, her only defeat of the season, but had to fight tooth and nail to earn it in a 94-minute tussle.

Kerber, who had her upper left leg covered in heavy strapping, looked dead and buried on several occasions in the second set but was able to stay alive with a gutsy break when Azarenka served for the match at 5-4.



Parity was short-lived, however, as Kerber handed back the break in the next game and Azarenka did not waste another opportunity and sealed the deal to move within a win from a third Miami title and second straight tournament triumph.

“I am very happy I stayed really strong in the end and actually started really well,” Azarenka, who beat Serena Williams to claim the Indian Wells title on March 20, said in a courtside interview. “I started to dictate [early] and I think the beginning was really important.”



Next up for the 26-year-old is Kuznetsova in the final, after the Russian held off a strong challenge from Switzerland’s Timea Bacsinszky to win 7-5, 6-3 in the searing afternoon heat. “I am happy that I could hang in there and never let my hands down,” Kuznetsova, who won the Miami title in 2006, said courtside. 

Published in The Express Tribune, April 2^nd,  2016.              

Like Sports on Facebook, follow @ETribuneSports on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.