User:Avatar5991/Azarenka–S. Williams rivalry

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Victoria Azarenka (left) and Serena Williams (right)

The Azarenka–S. Williams rivalry is between tennis players Victoria Azarenka of Belarus and Serena Williams of the United States of America, who are engaged in a modern day tennis rivalry. They have played each other twelve times with Serena Williams leading their head-to-head 11–1 and 7–0 in Grand Slam matches.[1] Serena Williams eventually won the championship in nine out of the eleven times she has defeated Victoria Azarenka.

The rivalry between these two players started to intensify in 2012, with five meetings between the pair that year. Early in the 2012 season though the rivalry was overshadowed by Victoria Azarenka's rivalries with Maria Sharapova and Agnieszka Radwańska, however, since their meeting in the Madrid final Azarenka and Williams have played some exceptional matches during the year. Their most recent meeting was at the 2012 WTA Tour Championships with Serena Williams victorious 6–4, 6–4.

They had been due to meet in the semi-finals of the 2013 Brisbane International,[2] however Victoria Azarenka was forced to withdraw due to a toe injury.[3]

Notable matches[edit]

2008 Australian Open Third Round[edit]

The pair's first meeting took place in the third round of the 2008 Australian Open. Serena Williams was the seventh seed and the defending champion, whilst Victoria Azarenka was seeded at a Grand Slam for the first time in her professional career, being seeded No. 26. Serena Williams won 6–3, 6–4.[4]

2009 Australian Open Round of 16[edit]

The pair's next meeting would again take place at the Australian Open, in the Round of 16 at the 2009 Australian Open. Serena Williams was once again victorious, after Azarenka was forced to retire due to illness having taken the first set 6–3 but trailing 2–4 in the second.[5] Serena Williams wound up being the eventual champion.

2009 Miami Masters Final[edit]

This was the second (of three) meeting between the pair in 2009. This match was significant as it would mark the first (and so far only) time that Victoria Azarenka would defeat Serena Williams in their head-to-head.[6] This was also their first meeting in a WTA Tour final.

2009 Wimbledon Quarter-final[edit]

Their quarter-final at the 2009 Wimbledon Championships was their third meeting in a Grand Slam, but their first in a Grand Slam quarter-final. Again, Serena Williams emerged victorious, and again Williams wound up being the eventual champion.[7]

2010 Australian Open Quarter-final[edit]

This was the third year in a row the pair met at the Australian Open, though this time it was in the quarter-finals. Azarenka's best chance to defeat Williams went begging after she let slip a set and 4–0 second set lead to go down 4–6, 7–6(7–4), 6–2.[8] This was the third year in a row in which Azarenka lost to Williams at this event, after losses in 2008 and 2009. Again, Serena Williams ended up being the eventual champion.

2012 Wimbledon Semi-final[edit]

Their meeting in the semi-finals of Wimbledon in 2012 was, to that point in time, the biggest match the pair played between each other. Serena Williams was the four-time champion and the sixth seed whilst Victoria Azarenka entered the match having not dropped a set in the five matches she played. Once again Serena Williams proved to be too good, winning 6–3, 7–6, advancing to her seventh Wimbledon final at Azarenka's expense. Despite this defeat, Azarenka regained the World No. 1 ranking after Agnieszka Radwańska's failure to win the title.[9]

2012 Olympics Semi-final[edit]

Serena Williams (centre) won the Olympic Gold Medal in London, defeating Victoria Azarenka (left) in the semi-finals. Azarenka defeated Maria Kirilenko to win the Bronze Medal.

Barely four weeks later, the pair met yet again at the 2012 London Olympic Games. This match would see Serena Williams record her biggest ever win over Victoria Azarenka, with a scoreline of 6–1, 6–2. This represented the worst defeat Azarenka suffered in 2012.[10] Serena Williams would then go on to win the Gold Medal, whilst Azarenka settled for Bronze after defeating Maria Kirilenko in the Bronze Medal match.

2012 US Open Final[edit]

This was the biggest meeting between the pair. They had already met in two finals and numerous Grand Slam quarter-finals and semi-finals but until the 2012 US Open they had never met in a Grand Slam final. Serena Williams looked headed for yet another easy win against Azarenka after she won the first set 6–2 but the Belarussian fought back to level the match 6–2. In the deciding set, Azarenka built a 5–3 lead and was two points away from the championship on Williams' serve, but the American held her serve, giving Azarenka the chance to serve for it at 5–4. Serena then broke Azarenka's serve to level the set at 5–5 before winning the next two games to eventually win the championship.[11]

Head-to-head[edit]

Legend (2009–present)
Grand Slam tournaments (7)
WTA Championships (1)
Olympics (1)
Premier Mandatory/Premier 5 (3)
International (1)

Azarenka–S. Williams (1–11)[edit]

No. Year Tournament Surface Round Winner Score Azarenka S. Williams
1. 2008 Australian Open Hard Third round S. Williams 6–3, 6–4 0 1
2. 2009 Australian Open Hard Round of 16 S. Williams 3–6, 4–2 ret. 0 2
3. 2009 Miami Hard Final Azarenka 6–3, 6–1 1 2
4. 2009 Wimbledon Grass Quarter-final S. Williams 6–3, 6–2 1 3
5. 2010 Australian Open Hard Quarter-final S. Williams 4–6, 7–6(7–4), 6–2 1 4
6. 2011 Rogers Cup Hard Semi-final S. Williams 6–3, 6–3 1 5
7. 2011 US Open Hard Third round S. Williams 6–1, 7–6 1 6
8. 2012 Mutua Madrid Open Clay Final S. Williams 6–1, 6–3 1 7
9. 2012 Wimbledon Grass Semi-final S. Williams 6–3, 7–6 1 8
10. 2012 Olympics Grass Semi-final S. Williams 6–1, 6–2 1 9
11. 2012 US Open Hard Final S. Williams 6–2, 2–6, 7–5 1 10
12. 2012 Istanbul Hard Round Robin S. Williams 6–4, 6–4 1 11
13. 2013 Brisbane Hard Semi-final S. Williams Walkover1[3] 1 11

1The 2013 Brisbane International semi-final does not count as a Serena Williams victory, nor a Victoria Azarenka loss. Azarenka withdrew before the match due to a toe infection.

Analysis[edit]

Head-to-head tallies[edit]

  • All matches: S. Williams, 11–1
    • Grand Slam matches: S. Williams, 7–0
    • Matches lasting three sets: S. Williams, 2–0
  • All finals: S. Williams, 2–1
    • Grand Slam finals: S. Williams, 1–0
    • Premier finals: Tied, 1–1

Results on each surface[edit]

Performance timeline comparison (Grand Slam tournaments)[edit]

Since 2008[edit]

Main article: Tennis performance timeline comparison (women)
Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# P# DNQ A Z# PO G S B NMS NTI P NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; (NMS) not a Masters tournament; (NTI) not a Tier I tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.
  • Bold = players met during this tournament
Player 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
AUS FRA WIM USA AUS FRA WIM USA AUS FRA WIM USA AUS FRA WIM USA AUS FRA WIM USA AUS FRA WIM USA
Belarus Victoria Azarenka 3R 4R 3R 3R 4R QF QF 3R QF 1R 3R 2R 4R QF SF 3R W 4R SF F W SF 2R F
United States Serena Williams QF 3R F W W QF W SF W QF W A A A 4R F 4R 1R W W QF W 4R W

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ V. Azarenka - S. Williams Head to Head Game Statistics, Tennis Tournament Results - Tennis Statistics Wettpoint
  2. ^ Serena sets up Azarenka clash - ABC Grandstand Sport - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
  3. ^ a b Azarenka scratched from Brisbane International - ABC Grandstand Sport - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
  4. ^ Serena stays on course in title defence – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
  5. ^ Azarenka bows out hurt, Serena advances - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
  6. ^ Mark Hodgkinson (5 April 2009). "Victoria Azarenka the big noise after beating Serena Williams to win Miami title". Telegraph. Retrieved 6 July 2009. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  7. ^ Serena ready to play five sets - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
  8. ^ Serena pulls off miracle comeback – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
  9. ^ Serena Williams v Victoria Azarenka: Wimbledon semi-final – as it happened | Katy Murrells | Sport | guardian.co.uk
  10. ^ Racquet Reaction – Olympics: S. Williams d. Azarenka
  11. ^ Serena Williams beats Victoria Azarenka to win US Open – as it happened | Sport | guardian.co.uk

Category:Serena Williams Category:Tennis rivalries

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Avatar5991/Azarenka–S._Williams_rivalry&oldid=1067920010"