World number two Victoria Azarenka of Belarus secured a place at the Western & Southern Open final after she defeated former top-ranked Jelena Jankovic of Serbia 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. Azarenka will next face world number one Serena Williams in the final.
“I think everybody has been kind of struggling with their serve here for some reason, but I don’t know why,” Azarenka said after the match. “Especially at night, it makes it a little bit more difficult. During the day, it might be a little easier. Yeah, it’s something a little bit tough for everybody, I guess.
“I thought it was just me, but I noticed that I’m not that special.”
The Australian Open champion has had a fruitful North American hardcourt season, finishing as runner-up in Carlsbad and reaching the final at Cincinnati.
“I feel much fitter than I ever was before – I think it’s showing on the court a lot,” Azarenka said. “Game-wise, what’s important is to work through those tournaments, as preparation for the Open. That’s what I’m trying to do, to try to move more forward. So I feel like these last two tournaments, my game is just coming more and more together, and my goal is to have it together in time for the US Open.”
It won’t be an easy task for Azarenka in her upcoming match, considering that she trails Williams in their head to head series 2-12.
“I think it’s just going to be a new match,” Azarenka said. “We’ve never played here, and we haven’t played on hardcourts since February. So it will be interesting to see how we’re going to play against each other. There’s no better challenge than to face the best player in the final before a big event.
“So I’m just looking forward to going out there and trying to do my best. Obviously I want to win, but I’m just going to try to stay in that moment and work on the same things I’ve been working on.”
