Three-time Miami Open CHAMPION Victoria Azarenka took almost 3 hours to beat Yulia Putintseva 7-6 (7/4), 1-6 and 6-3 to advance to the semifinals, Wednesday (27/3) WIB.
The 34-year-old, who won the Miami Open in 2009, 2001 and 2016, had to overcome the unyielding resistance of his opponent from Kazakhstan.
The match was stopped for 45 minutes in the fourth game of the first set due to an electrical problem which disrupted the referee’s communication with the Hawkeye system.
Azarenka had to save three set points when Putintseva held serve at 5-4 in the first set before failing to convert two set points at 6-5 so the match went to a tie-break.
AFP/Megan Briggs/Getty Images—Petenis Kazakhstan Yulia Putintseva
Putintseva appeared dominant in the second set but Azarenka recovered in the third and won.
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“Yulia performed well. She was in her best performance and I had to work hard to win. I lost my confidence because she performed so well, forcing me to move all over the court,” said Azarenka.
“However, I am happy to be able to get up and take advantage of the opportunity to win,” he continued.
Azarenka then said the victory over Putintseva showed she still wanted to compete with the world’s top tennis players.
“I’m still very motivated. I’ve been playing tennis for 20 years and I still feel like I’m getting better,” he stressed. (AFP/Z-1)
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