By Richard Pagliaro | Saturday, March 27, 2021

 

In a clash of Grand Slam champions Victoria Azarenka reeled off 12 of the last 15 games powering past Angelique Kerber 7-5, 6-2 into the Miami Open round of 16.

Photo credit: Qatar Tennis Facebook

Prepare for a major Miami showdown.

In a clash of former world No. 1 Grand Slam champions Victoria Azarenka reeled off 12 of the last 15 games powering past Angelique Kerber 7-5, 6-2 into the Miami Open round of 16.

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Three-time Miami champion Azerena maintained her mastery of Kerber stopping the three-time Slam champion for the ninth time in 10 meetings.

The 14th-seeded Azarenka set up a blockbuster fourth-round clash vs. world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty.

In a match of French Open champions, the top-seeded Barty erased four of five break points defeating Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 6-2.

Reigning champion Barty scored her eighth straight win in Miami one round after she denied a match point in a 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 comeback conquest of qualifier Karolina Kucova.

The tournament began with a constellation of 14 Grand Slam champions in the women's field. Azarenka and Barty bring dynamic disparate styles and friendly fire to their fourth-round showdown.

"She's a very talented player. I always have been a huge fan of her game and the way she plays, the way she, you know, kind of handles herself," Azarenka said of Barty. "She has a lot of variety. She has pretty much every single shot there is. She's, you know, going to be a great match.

"I don't know when was the last time we actually played against each other. I think Fed Cup in Australia? That's what I remember. So it's going to be a great match. I'm really looking forward to playing against her. I miss a lot playing doubles with her, so hopefully we can play a few tournaments again."

The pair are good friends and former doubles partners who joined forces to win the 2019 Rome title and reach the US Open doubles final the same year.



Their fourth-round reunion pits Barty's precise serving against Azarenka's sniper return.

"I obviously played Vika I think most recently at Fed Cup a couple years ago, so it was still a while ago now," Barty said. "I know she had an exceptional year last year.

"She's a great friend of mine, a brilliant player and someonewho I respect and look up to a lot for the way she's handled herself throughout her career."

Playing her first match of the tournament after a first-round bye and second-round walkover, Azarenka took some time to find her range and rhythm today as the left-hander Kerber came out of the blocks quickly registering successive breaks to build a 4-1 lead.

Once Azarenka settled in, she began belting big returns off the left-handed German's sometime sub 70 mph second serve. Azarenka ravaged the three-time Grand Slam champion's second serve winning 20 of 29 points played on the second delivery and breaking serve six times.

Relentless return pressure prompted Kerber to crack in the 11th game. A couple of Kerber double faults preceded an Azarenka knifing a dagger return down the line that helped helped the Belarusian break for 6-5. Azarenka banged an ace down the middle to take the 54-minute first set on the strength of 15 winners. 

Streaking through two straight breaks to start the second set, Azarenka build a 3-0 second-set lead. When Kerber sprayed a forehand wide, Azarenka had her third break of the set for 5-2.

The world No. 13 finished in style racing up quickly to a mid-court ball and firing a clean forehand winner down the line to wrap up in impressive win in 91 minutes.