ROME – Fresh off a doubles title in Madrid, Victoria Azarenka stepped up her singles match on the clay courts of the Italian Open by beating Sloane Stephens 6-4, 6-3 in her first round match. opening Thursday.
Stephens had just won a singles title at a small clay-court event in Saint Malo, France, while Azarenka lost her first singles match in Madrid.
“I was definitely quite nervous before the game,” Azarenka said. “I felt like I didn’t have too many matches under my belt and Sloane just won the tournament so I knew she was in good shape so I just tried to stay focused on myself. “
The strategy worked, as Azarenka overpowered Stephens with baseline winners, plus a drop-shot winner to wrap up a long rally midway through the second set when she broke for a 4-2 lead.
Azarenka is making her 14th Foro Italico appearance, having reached the final in 2013, when she lost to Serena Williams.
“It felt like it was so long ago,” Azarenka said. ” Time flies. I try to enjoy every moment I have on the pitch. I don’t know how much longer I will play, so I want to enjoy it. But I still feel like I can be very competitive.
This year, Azarenka reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open and won the doubles title last week with Beatriz Haddad Maia, with whom she is partnered again in Rome.
Additionally, 2019 Roma champion and two-time runner-up Karolina Pliskova was knocked out by Hungarian qualifier Anna Bondar 7-6(5), 6-2; Wang Xiyu beat Madrid quarter-finalist Irina-Camelia Begu 6-4, 7-5; and 11th-seeded Veronika Kudermetova defeated Nuria Parrizas Diaz 7-5, 6-2.
On the men’s side, German qualifier Daniel Altmaier beat Italian joker Giulio Zeppieri 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-0 on the picturesque, statue-lined Pietrangeli pitch; and Jason Kubler beat Marc-Andrea Huesler 6-7(6), 6-4, 6-2.
Rome is the last big warm-up before the start of French Open at the end of the month.
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