Aryna Sabalenka too good for Victoria Azarenka 6-2 6-2 in the final in Ostrava on Sunday in what was an all-Belarussian contest after playing an extraordinary match to win her 7th career title, the 2nd of this season.
While the final was pretty straightforward since Azarenka was clearly struggling from a physical point of view, Aryna won 2 incredible matches during this week. In the 2nd round, she won a tricky match against Coco Gauff after recovering from a 2-5 deficit in the decider. The following match against Sara Sorribes Tormo was even more eventful. Sabalenka lost the first 10 games (0-6 0-4) before winning 12 in a row (0-6 6-4 6-0).
After the final, Aryna commented:
“I’m so excited I was able to handle a high level from her from the very first point. I was able to stay with her and it didn’t affect me, so I’m really happy to get this win. It’s so important for me.”
Azarenka was clearly under the weather during the match. Eventually, she revealed that she was struggling with a horrible migraine to comment:
“I started to feel bad yesterday. I had a really bad migraine and sometimes this happens. That was pretty significant. I obviously felt better this morning, but the effect of playing under lights that cause sensitivity, and still recovering from yesterday, it triggered more of the same reaction. It was very unfortunate for me today, but it is what it is.”
Live score progression and stats
Sabalenka in this set was more solid than Azarenka and without too much hustling she won 6-2 after breaking Victoria in the 5th (3-2) and in the 7th (5-2) game.
Victoria couldn’t stop the opposition in the last 5 games of the set when the score went from 1-2 to 6-2.
Sabalenka converted 50% of her break points (2/4). She had 4 break points opportunities in the 1st (0-0 15-40 and 30-40), the 5th (2-2 0-40) and the 7th game (4-2 40-A). On the other side, Aryna didn’t concede a single break point during this set.
They played 50 points. Sabalenka won 12 points more than Azarenka (31-19). Sabalenka conceded 6 points on serve (17-6). on the other side of the net, Azarenka conceded 14 points on serve (13-14).
Aryna was in much better shape than Victoria and without too much struggle she won 6-2. Victoria broke Sabalenka 3 times in the 3rd (2-1), in the 5th (4-1) and in the 7th
(5-2) game. However, Sabalenka broke her opponent in the 6th (4-2) game, but that didn’t stop her to win the set (6-2).Certainly, a key moment was when Sabalenka won 4 consecutive games in the 2nd set so as to convert the scoreline from 0-1 to 4-1.
Aryna was spot on in converting all her break points in the 3rd (1-1 0-40), the 5th (3-1 30-40) and the 7th
game (4-2 30-40). On the other side, Victoria was clinical in converting the only break point that she conquered in the 6th game (1-4 15-40).They played 43 points. Sabalenka was the one to win the set after conquering 9 points more than Victoria (26-17). Sabalenka dropped 9 points on serve (13-9). on the other side of the court, Victoria conceded 13 points on serve (8-13).
Stats: aces, double faults, breaks, winners
At the end of the match, Aryna scored 57 points vs. Azarenka’s 36.
Aryna served pretty well to win 77% of the points (23/30) behind her first serve. Nonetheless she won only 47% points (7/15) on her second serve. Aryna was sharp when converting 71% of the break points that she procured (5/7). On the other side, Victoria was exceptional in converting the only break point that she converted. Nonetheless, that was not enough to win the encounter.
After this contest, the head to head between Sabalenka and Azarenka is 2-1 for Aryna. This was the 7th career title for Aryna. (see list of the title). Victoria remains with 21 titles. (see list of the title)
Highlights Aryna Sabalenka vs. Victoria Azarenka J&T Banka Ostrava Open – Ostrava
Tennis Scores in Ostrava
- Aryna SabalenkaSabalenka – Victoria AzarenkaAzarenka (6-2 6-2) – Stats and score progression