Photo: Paul ZimmerVictoria Azarenka (BLR)
Victoria Azarenka stunned Maria Sharapova 63 60 in the women’s final at the Australian Open to claim her maiden Grand Slam title and with it the world No. 1 ranking.
The Belarusian needed just 1 hour 22 minutes to dispose of three-time Grand Slam champion Sharapova in a one-sided affair in which Azarenka showed nerves of steel, producing shots that were varied, powerful and intense.
Azarenka is the latest Grand Slam champion to have benefited from the support of the Grand Slam® Development Fund, having been a member of two ITF/Grand Slam Junior Touring Teams in 2004.
Sharapova started the final with a break but despite an initial 2-0 lead, the 24-year-old was unable to assert any kind of dominance, winning just one more game as Azarenka raised her level.
“She did everything better than I did today,” said Sharapova, who claimed the title at Melbourne Park in 2008. “I had a good first couple of games, and that was about it. Then she was the one that was taking the first ball and hitting it deep and aggressive. I was always the one running around like a rabbit, you know, trying to play catch up all the time.”
Azarenka’s previous best Grand Slam result was reaching the quarterfinals at Wimbledon in 2011 - the only time she had previously reached the last eight at a major - but she has started 2012 in imperious form, securing her first Grand Slam trophy on the back of the title at Sydney.
"First two games was a little bit of a disaster, but then I kinda got the momentum going," explained Azarenka. "I relaxed and I start to be focusing on the moment on each point, you know, trying to do whatever it takes to win that point."
In the men's doubles, unseeded pair Leander Paes of India and Radek Stepanek of Czech Republic shocked American No. 1 seeds Bob and Mike Bryan 76(1) 62 in the final. It was the seventh Grand Slam doubles triumph for veteran Paes, whereas Stepanek was lifting a major trophy for the first time.
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