2013 Victoria Azarenka tennis season
 Azarenka at a press conference in Doha. | |
| Full name | Victoria Azarenka |
|---|---|
| Land |  Weißrussland |
| Singles | |
| Season record | 18-1 (94.73%) |
| Calendar titles | 2 |
| Current ranking | No. 3 |
| Ranking change from previous year |  2 |
| Grand Slam & significant results | |
| Australian Open | W |
| French Open | TBD |
| Wimbledon | TBD |
| US Open | TBD |
| Injuries | |
| Injuries | Ankle (March–April)[1] |
The 2013 Victoria Azarenka tennis season officially began at the 2013 Brisbane International, the first of two simultaneous events which opened the official 2013 season.
Yearly summary
Australian Open series
Azarenka began her 2013 season as the top seed at the 2013 Brisbane International, her first participation at the event since winning in 2009. She defeated German Sabine Lisicki 6–3, 6–3 in the second round after receiving a bye in the first round.[2] This was followed up with a crushing 6–1, 6–0 victory over Ksenia Pervak in the quarter-finals, to maintain her record of not dropping a set in the tournament thus far.[3] Azarenka was later forced to withdraw from her scheduled semi-final against Serena Williams due to a toe injury.[4]
Her next tournament was the defence of her Australian Open title. Azarenka won her first six matches dropping only one set en route (against Jamie Hampton in the third round), to reach the final for the second consecutive year, where she faced Li Na of China.[5] Azarenka was able to successfully defend her title with a 4–6, 6–4, 6–3 victory in the final; thus, she became the first woman since Serena Williams in 2009–10 to successfully defend her Australian Open title.[6] With the victory, she also became only the fifth active player (after Serena and Venus Williams, Maria Sharapova and Svetlana Kuznetsova) to hold two or more Grand Slam singles titles.[7]
Middle East series
As the defending champion in Qatar, Azarenka once again reached the championship match, where she met Serena Williams, who replaced her as World No. 1 upon reaching the semi-finals (Williams did not play in Doha last year).[8] After receiving a bye in the first round, she defeated Romina Oprandi, Christina McHale (without losing a game), Sara Errani and Agnieszka Radwańska to set up the final meeting against Williams. Azarenka scored just her second career victory over Williams, winning in the championship match in three sets and successfully defending her title.[9]
Azarenka missed the Dubai Tennis Championships for the second year in a row, withdrawing from the tournament due to a foot injury she sustained in Doha.[10]
American hard court season
Azarenka's first tournament of the American hard court season was the defence of her Indian Wells title. As the top seed in the absence of Serena Williams, Azarenka got a first round bye, following which she defeated Daniela Hantuchová, Kirsten Flipkens (in three sets) and Urszula Radwańska, before withdrawing from the tournament prior to her quarter-final match against eventual runner-up Caroline Wozniacki due to an ankle injury.[1] Her failure to defend her points saw her world ranking drop to No. 3 at the end of this tournament.
The ankle injury she suffered at Indian Wells forced her out of the Miami tournament the following week.[11]
Clay court season
Azarenka decided to skip the Stuttgart event, to allow for recovery from her ankle injury. Her next tournament was the Mutua Madrid Open, where she was a finalist last year. She defeated recent Portugal Open champion Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in two tiebreak sets, in her first match since Indian Wells, before being upset in the second round by World No. 24 Ekaterina Makarova in three sets;[12] thus losing her first match this season after eighteen matches undefeated.
Grass court season
Azarenka will have 900 points to defend at Wimbledon, having reached the semi-finals last year.
US Open series
Azarenka has only 60 points to defend at the Rogers Cup, having retired in the second round last year due to a knee injury. She also has 1,400 points to defend at the US Open, having reached the final last year.
Asian hard court season
Azarenka will have quarter-final points to defend in Tokyo, and is the defending champion in Beijing.
Indoor hard court season
Azarenka is the defending champion at Linz.
WTA Tour Championships
Azarenka's qualification for the WTA Tour Championships for this season is still to be confirmed. She has 530 points to defend from reaching the semi-finals last year.
All matches
Singles matches
| Tournament | Match | Round | Opponent/Ranking | Result | Score | ||
| Brisbane International Brisbane, Australia WTA Premier Hard, outdoor 2–7 January 2012 |
Bye | ||||||
| 1 |  Sabine Lisicki / #37
|
6–3, 6–3 | |||||
| 2 |  Ksenia Pervak / #103
|
6–1, 6–0 | |||||
 Serena Williams / #3
|
K.A. | ||||||
| Australian Open Melbourne, Australia Grand Slam Hard, outdoor 14–27 January 2013 | |||||||
| 3 |  Monica Niculescu / #58
|
6–1, 6–4 | |||||
| 4 |  Eleni Daniilidou / #94
|
6–1, 6–0 | |||||
| 5 | Jamie Hampton / #63
|
6–4, 4–6, 6–2 | |||||
| 6 |  Elena Vesnina / #47
|
6–1, 6–1 | |||||
| 7 | Svetlana Kuznetsova / #75
|
7–5, 6–1 | |||||
| 8 | Sloane Stephens / #25
|
6–1, 6–4 | |||||
| 9 |  Li Na / #6
|
4–6, 6–4, 6–3 | |||||
| Qatar Ladies Open Doha, Qatar WTA Premier 5 Hard, outdoor 11–17 February 2013 |
Bye | ||||||
| 10 |  Romina Oprandi / #62
|
6–2, 6–3 | |||||
| 11 | Christina McHale / #44
|
6–0, 6–0 | |||||
| 12 |  Sara Errani / #7
|
6–2, 6–2 | |||||
| 13 |  Agnieszka Radwańska / #4
|
6–3, 6–3 | |||||
| 14 | Serena Williams / #2
|
7–6(8–6), 2–6, 6–3 | |||||
| Dubai Tennis Championships Dubai, United Arab Emirates WTA Premier Hard, outdoor 18–24 February 2012 |
Withdrew[10] | ||||||
| Indian Wells Indian Wells, United States of America WTA Premier Mandatory Hard, outdoor 4–17 March 2012 |
Bye | ||||||
| 15 |  Daniela Hantuchová / #73
|
6–4, 6–1 | |||||
| 16 |  Kirsten Flipkens / #31
|
3–6, 6–3, 6–0 | |||||
| 17 | Urszula Radwańska / #37
|
6–3, 6–1 | |||||
 Caroline Wozniacki / #10
|
K.A. | ||||||
| Sony Open Miami, United States of America WTA Premier Mandatory Hard, outdoor 18–31 March 2012 |
Withdrew[11] | ||||||
| Mutua Madrid Open Madrid, Spain WTA Premier Mandatory Clay, outdoor 4–12 May 2013 |
18 | Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova / #19
|
7–6(10–8), 7–6(7–3) | ||||
| 19 | Ekaterina Makarova / #24
|
6–1, 2–6, 3–6 | |||||
Tournament Schedule
Singles Schedule
![[icon]](/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (February 2013) |
Victoria Azarenka's 2013 singles tournament schedule is as follows:
| Date | Championship | Standort | Kategorie | Surface | Prev. result | Prev. points | New points | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 December 2012– 6 January 2013 |
Brisbane International | Brisbane (AUS) | WTA Premier | Hard | DNP | 0 | 200 | Withdrew before semi-final match (against Serena Williams)[4] |
| 14 January 2013– 27 January 2013 |
Australian Open | Melbourne (AUS) | Grand Slam | Hard | W | 2000 | 2000 | Won in the final against Li Na |
| 11 February 2013– 17 February 2013 |
Qatar Total Open | Doha (QAT) | WTA Premier 5 | Hard | W | 900 | 900 | Won in the final against Serena Williams |
| 18 February 2013– 23 February 2013 |
Dubai Tennis Championships | Dubai (UAE) | WTA Premier | Hard | DNP | 0 | 0 | Withdrew before her first match due to a foot injury[10] |
| 4 March 2013– 17 March 2013 |
Indian Wells | Indian Wells (USA) | WTA Premier Mandatory | Hard | W | 1000 | 250 | Withdrew before quarter-final match (against Caroline Wozniacki)[1] |
| 18 March 2013– 31 March 2013 |
Sony Ericsson Open | Miami (USA) | WTA Premier Mandatory | Hard | QF | 250 | 0 | Withdrew before her first match due to an ankle injury[11] |
| 6 May 2013– 12 May 2013 |
Mutua Madrid Masters | Madrid (ESP) | WTA Premier Mandatory | Clay | F | 700 | 60 | Lost in the second round against Ekaterina Makarova |
| 13 May 2013– 19 May 2013 |
Internazionali BNL d'Italia | Rome (ITA) | WTA Premier 5 | Clay | 3R | 160 | TBD | Anhängig |
| 26 May 2013– 9 June 2013 |
French Open | Paris (FRA) | Grand Slam | Clay | 4R | 280 | TBD | Anhängig |
| 23 June 2013– 7 July 2013 |
Wimbledon | London (GBR) | Grand Slam | Grass | SF | 900 | TBD | Anhängig |
| 5 August 2013– 11 August 2013 |
Rogers Cup | Toronto (CAN) | WTA Premier 5 | Hard | 2R | 60 | TBD | Anhängig |
| 12 August 2013– 18 August 2013 |
Western and Southern Open | Cincinnati (USA) | WTA Premier 5 | Hard | DNP | 0 | TBD | Anhängig |
| 26 August 2013– 9 September 2013 |
US Open | New York (USA) | Grand Slam | Hard | F | 1400 | TBD | Anhängig |
| 23 September 2013– 28 September 2013 |
Toray Pan Pacific Open | Tokyo (JPN) | WTA Premier 5 | Hard | QF | 250 | TBD | Anhängig |
| 28 September 2013– 6 October 2013 |
China Open | Beijing (CHN) | WTA Premier Mandatory | Hard | W | 1000 | TBD | Anhängig |
| 21 October 2013– 27 October 2013 |
WTA Tour Championships | Istanbul (TUR) | WTA Tour Championships | Hard (i) | SF | 530 | TBD | Anhängig |
Yearly Records
Head-to-head match-ups
Bold indicates that the player was in the Top 10, italics denotes that the player was in the Top 20 (at the time of the match being played).
|
|
|
|
Singles
Singles: 2 (2–0)
|
|
|
| Outcome | No. | Date | Championship | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score in the final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1. | January 26, 2013 |  Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia (2)
|
Hard | Li Na
|
4–6, 6–4, 6–3 |
| Winner | 2. | February 17, 2013 |  Qatar Ladies Open, Doha, Qatar (2)
|
Hard | Serena Williams
|
7–6(8–6), 2–6, 6–3 |
Exhibition matches
Victoria Azarenka took part in the annual BNP Paribas Showdown, where she faced Serena Williams in a rematch of their 2012 US Open final.[13] Azarenka lost the exhibition match in straight sets.[14]
| Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lost | 1. | March 4, 2013 | BNP Paribas Showdown, Manhattan, New York
|
Hard | Serena Williams
|
4–6, 3–6 |
See also
References
- ^ a b c d Indian Wells: Azarenka, Stosur pull out due to injuries | Tennis - News | NDTVSports.com
- ^ Azarenka starts 2013 in style - ABC Grandstand Sport - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
- ^ Azarenka cruises into semis in Brisbane - ABC Grandstand Sport - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
- ^ a b c Azarenka scratched from Brisbane International - ABC Grandstand Sport - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
- ^ Azarenka plays through injuries to reach final - ABC Grandstand Sport - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
- ^ Azarenka defends Australian Open title - ABC Grandstand Sport - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
- ^ Victoria Azarenka promises to learn from Australian Open victory | Sport | The Guardian
- ^ Battling Serena becomes oldest world number one - ABC Grandstand Sport - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
- ^ Azarenka topples Serena to win in Doha – ABC Grandstand Sport – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
- ^ a b c WTA Fans: Azarenka withdraws from Dubai
- ^ a b c Azarenka withdraws at Sony with ankle injury - Yahoo! Sports
- ^ Azarenka loses temper and match in Madrid Open, Nadal defends well to reach 3rd round
- ^ Azarenka Looking Forward to BNP Paribas Showdown - Tennis Now
- ^ Garden party: Serena tops Azarenka in showdown