Midway through last week, Victoria Azarenka didn’t know how she would compete at the DC Open.
Washington, D.C
Victoria Azarenka survives Hailey Baptiste, advances at DC Open
The No. 6 seed, who won exactly one more point than Baptiste in the match, advanced to a second-round meeting with China’s Yafan Wang.
“It was hard for me to expect a high level of tennis today after having a break and coming off from injury, not really having too much time on the practice court,” Azarenka said. “But I feel like I fought really hard today. In the tiebreaks, in the important moments, I really executed well.”
Despite the win, Azarenka never felt comfortable.
“After a break, you have those hesitations, you have some of those doubts,” she said. “Sometimes the quicker decision-making is not as natural after not playing for a while.”
Azarenka and Baptiste are coming from opposite ends of their careers. Azarenka turns 35 Wednesday, is ranked No. 20 and has earned nearly $40 million in her career. She finished No. 1 in 2012, the same year Baptiste turned 11.
Baptiste is ranked No. 97 and had to win a qualifier just to make the main draw. But once the players were on the court, not much separated the two.
The first set took more than 70 minutes. Baptiste led 5-4 and 6-5 but couldn’t close Azarenka out.
Azarenka took a 5-2 lead in the first tiebreak, but Baptiste cut her deficit to one. With a chance to even things, Baptiste took a ball on her forehand — a strength of her game — but sent it into the net.
The Belarusian eventually won the set with a backhand winner, then won three of the first four games in the next set. Baptiste responded, forced a tiebreak and took a 3-1 lead.
But it wouldn’t last. Azarenka won the next six points, celebrating with a reserved fist pump.
“I would say it’s a good start,” she said.
Tiafoe survives a scare
Seconds after he won a marathon second-round match against Daniel Elahi Galan, Frances Tiafoe swung at an errant tennis ball and knocked it out of the stadium. It was unclear whether the blast was in joy or relief, but the Hyattsville native survived a scare after an early stumble for a 6-7 (10-8), 6-3, 6-3 win.
“I didn’t feel so good after that first set. … I really found my game, so I hope you guys enjoyed it,” he said in the on-court interview after the match, which lasted 2 hours 22 minutes. His hometown crowd, cheering his every word, did seem to enjoy it.
Tiafoe, seeking his first DC Open title, will face the winner of Wednesday’s Roberto Carballes Baena-Aleksandar Kovacevic match in the round of 16.
“I think it’s good to have a really tough match in the first round where you’re like, ‘Wow, I could be out of here,’” Tiafoe said. “… Definitely gets your feet going and ready for the tournament. … You get really tested.”
Lessons learned for Townsend
For Taylor Townsend, meeting Russian Anastasia Potapova in the first round was a less-than-ideal draw. The pair had met twice, with Potapova dominating both matches.
But digging through those losses revealed lessons for Townsend, who turned the tables on Potapova in a 6-2, 6-2 first-round win. She will face Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic in the second round Thursday.
Townsend declined to speak with reporters but said in an on-court interview after the match that she and her coach watched plenty of video to prepare for Potapova.
“This is the real me,” the 28-year-old said, addressing the crowd. “She’s been hiding for some time.”
The win builds on a milestone season for Townsend. She and Katerina Siniakova won the Wimbledon women’s doubles title this month for her first Grand Slam championship.