Strange fate in Doha. Serena will soon replace Vika as the world no.1 and Vika made a point to defeat the American to says “I am still the strongest!”.
Vika went against the odds also because she had a terrible 1-11 record against Serena that won the last 9 consecutive games.
The Final
It was a 2 hours and 28 minutes epic. Vika won a tough first set at the tie break (8-6). Then Serena fought back to trash the Belarussian 6-2 in the second, but the “almost former” world no.1 won the decider 6-3.
From Vika
“I just wanted to fight and give myself every opportunity to get back,” said Azarenka.
I told myself, ‘You have to keep it together, you have to do something otherwise Serena’s on a roll and she’s going to bring her A game.’
“I had to really step up my game and I’m glad that I could turn it around, stay tough and focused.”
From Serena
“I can’t say that I’m depressed like I am whenever I lose,” said Serena.
“I’m definitely not happy, but I’m number one. It was such a long journey, and after winning Wimbledon and the US Open and the Championships, I thought, ‘I just don’t think I can win anymore. I don’t know what it takes to be number one.’
“So it was awesome to come here and achieve that goal.”