Victoria Azarenka of Belarus demolished Belgium’s Elise Mertens in straight sets to reach the semi-finals of the US Open on Wednesday. The...
Victoria Azarenka of Belarus demolished Belgium’s Elise Mertens in straight sets to reach the semi-finals of the US Open on Wednesday.
The former world No 1 thrashed the 16th seed 6-1, 6-0 in just 73 minutes inside an empty Arthur Ashe Stadium.
“That was pretty good,” said Azarenka. “I felt that I made the court really big for her today, which worked really well,” she added.
Mertens, 24, failed to hold her serve once during the match and won only 19 percent of points on her second serve. The Belgian also hit 23 unforced errors, compared to Azarenka’s 11.
“I felt that I really executed my plan. I was going to try to use my speed, use my power of the ball so I tried to do some variation where I would get her out of balance,” Azarenka said.
The two-time Grand Slam winner, will renew her rivalry with Serena Williams in the last four on Thursday. Williams defeated Azarenka in the final of the US Open in 2012 and 2013.
The unseeded Azarenka is bidding to end a seven-year wait for a third Grand Slam title at Flushing Meadows.
Azarenka’s last Slam title came at the 2013 Australian Open, when she retained the crown she had won a year earlier. Her...
