Outgoing world number one Victoria Azarenka made a statement on Sunday after successfully defending the Qatar Total Open title. The victory is even more significant considering that Azarenka defeated incoming world number one Serena Williams for the title and in the process have ended a 9-match losing streak against the 15-time Grand Slam champion. The final score was 76(6) 26 63.
“I won’t say I didn’t feel pressure, I was just really into the match and really focused on what I had to do,” Azarenka said.
“Near the end she saved a match point with a good serve – that’s what you normally expect to get from Serena when she’s in trouble – a bullet. But it wasn’t a big deal, really – I just had to keep my composure and make another opportunity and create another match point,” she added.
Serena Williams secured the top ranking on February 18 after reaching the semifinals of this tournament and she made another step further by ousting Maria Sharapova to progress to the final.
The Azarenka vs Williams match might happen again a week later since both are slated to participate at the Dubai Tennis Championships.
