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Belarusian teen Victoria Azarenka spoiled world number two Dinara Safina’s chance to reach the top ranking in the women’s circuit by beating the Russian in three sets (6-7, 6-1, 6-3) in the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California.
Safina would have overtaken top-ranked Serena Williams, who opted not to join the tournament, in the rankings had she reached the finals of this WTA event. However, eighth-seed Azarenka had other plans.
In the third set, Safina was up 3-1 and looked on course for the win but Azarenka went on to win five consecutive games to clinch the final set and the biggest win of her career so far.
It’s nice to see that Azarenka’s efforts during the off-season are paying off. She won two titles earlier this season and is very much equipped to win this Premier tournament. In order for her to reach the final, she will have to defeat another Russian, fourth-seed Vera Zvonareva who defeated Danish teen Caroline Wozniacki. Zvonareva currently leads their head-to-head matches, winning all three of their previous meetings. This ought to be a tough match for Vika.
Two other quarterfinal matches will be contested on Thursday with defending champion Ana Ivanovic facing 23rd seed Austrian Sybille Bammer while 7th seed Agnieszka Radwanska will square off with unseeded Russian teen Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
