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Match Details
Fixture: (16) Victoria Azarenka vs Sloane Stephens
Date: August 8, 2023
Tournament: Canadian Open 2023
Round: Second round (Round of 32)
Venue: Montreal, Canada
Category: WTA 1000
Surface: Hard
Prize money: $2,788,468
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | Canada - Sportsnet, TVA Sports | UK - Amazon Prime Video
Victoria Azarenka vs Sloane Stephens preview
Grand Slam champions Victoria Azarenka and Sloane Stephens will square off in the second round of the 2023 Canadian Open on Tuesday.
Azarenka was up against 2023 Australian Open semifinalist Magda Linette in the first round. The Belarusian broke her opponent's serve twice as she cruised to a 5-2 lead in the first set with ease.
Azarenka then stepped up to serve for the opener, but Linette broke her serve to make it 5-3. However, it wasn't the start of a comeback, as the Belarusian broke back immediately to take the set. She dominated the second set as she dished out a bagel to win the match 6-3, 6-0.
Stephens faced World No. 28 Anhelina Kalinina in the first round. The former led 3-0 in the opening set, but the latter fought back to level the score. The American bagged the next couple of games to go 5-3 up and then served for the set.
Stephens held four set points, but Kalinina dug deep to secure a break of serve instead. The 2017 US Open champion then broke back in the following game to claim the set. The second set started with four straight service breaks.
Stephens bucked the trend by reeling off three games in a row to go 5-2 up. Kalinina then swept the next four games to lead 6-5. The American then snagged a break to force a tie-break, in which she came out on top to win 6-4, 7-6 (2).
Victoria Azarenka vs Sloane Stephens head-to-head
Azarenka leads Stephens 5-4 in the head-to-head. The Belarusian won their previous encounter at the 2023 Italian Open in straight sets.
Victoria Azarenka vs Sloane Stephens odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Victoria Azarenka vs Sloane Stephens prediction
Stephens' level against Kalinina varied throughout the match. She started off by winning 14 points in a row but then struggled to close out both sets on her first attempt. She managed to win just 50% of her first serve points as well.
Azarenka, on the other hand, picked apart Linette with ease. However, since her semifinal finish at the Australian Open, the Belarusian hasn't been setting the tour on fire with her results.
The two are familiar rivals, with this contest set to be their 10th meeting on the WTA tour. Azarenka won their first three encounters, after which Stephens took the lead by claiming the next four matches. The Belarusian won both matches they played this year to surge ahead in their rivalry.
Both have struggled with their games this season, often letting go of huge leads. Azarenka seems to have a pulse on Stephens' game once again based on their previous matches this season. Given how she played in the previous round, she's likely to best the American for the third time this year.
Pick: Victoria Azarenka to win in three sets.
