Second seed Victoria Azarenka has booked her spot in the semifinals with a 6-4 6-7(7) 6-1 win but not before almost letting a golden opportunity slip.
Azarenka relinquished a commanding lead and eight match points in the second set to her unseeded opponent, Swiss Stefanie Voegele.
The plucky 23-year-old played with carefree abandon time and again as she frustrated former No.1 Azarenka who could not find a way to close out the world’s 50th ranked player who she admitted played exceptionally well.
“I think my opponent really played well on the match points. Should I have done better? Yeah, I think so. I probably should have closed it out early,” said Azarenka.
“I think I made things a little bit tougher for myself. I was creating a lot of opportunity, doing good things, and just didn’t convert in the right time.”
But with the match tied at a set apiece, something stirred inside Azarenka who regained her concentration and raced through the deciding set 6-1.
“The important [thing] was just to kind of regroup really quick after that set and try to stay in the moment and play and grind every point after every point, because she got the momentum.”
With Azarenka claiming the last spot in the final four, it means that this is the first time in the tournament’s history that the top four women’s seeds have filled all four semifinals spots.
“The field is so strong. To have such competitive players and top players to play against in the preparation to the Open is great. You just really test yourself and see what things you can improve in that next week before the Open.”
Azarenka will face fourth seed Jelena Jankovic in the semifinals, in the third match of Friday’s day session at Pat Rafter Arena.
“It’s going to be a tough match. She’s a great player. We always have tough battles, so definitely looking forward to that.”