Victoria Azarenko fails to get through to the semi-finals of Australia’s Open Championship — losing to German Angelique Kerber.
In previous matches against the German, Victoria won but, she should not lose heart at the defeat. Overall, the start of the season was a success for Ms. Azarenko: she celebrated a victory in Brisbane, outplaying Belgium’s Alison Van Uytvanck, Montenegro’s Danka Kovinic, Japan’s Naomi Osaka and Czech Barbora Strycova on her path to the quarter-finals of Australia’s Open Championship.
After the loss, the Belarusian calmly analysed her mistakes, admitting, “I think my performance was too straightforward and I made too many mistakes at key moments. I managed to create possibilities but failed to realise them. Ms. Kerber played some aggressive tennis but I feel that the final result is more the consequence of my play than hers. Psychologically, I should have made myself change something. Of course, I’m upset but tomorrow I’ll probably be angry! I just need to be more consistent and work even harder.”
After the match, Wim Fissette said that he was surprised with Victoria’s game. “She wasn’t moving well,” he noted, adding that Ms. Azarenko was probably suffering from nerves. Meanwhile, the coach also stressed that ‘it was a good January in general and this is only the beginning of the season’. After the Australian Open, Azarenko has risen to 14th place in the WTA rankings.
