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Victoria Azarenka was back in fine form at the Mutua Madrid Open Sunday. The Belorussian kept her game in formation to launch a quick offence, beating Alexandra Krunic 6-3, 6-3 on Estadio Three at La Caja Magica. It was her first international win of the year with more on the way from the returning tennis star.
This was the Belorussian’s first international competition since Wimbledon. With legal troubles keeping her off the tour as a permanent runner for the top spot, being back in Madrid for the first time in two years gives her a chance to make up for lost time. The clay courts stand as her second strongest to be competitive on getting plenty of time to prepare for the major part of the season. She faced Krunic years ago in New York beating her in a three-setter with the hopes of doing so again.
The Serb showed a stronger pace coming into the match that had Azarenka struggling to keep up. In her efforts to level the score in the fourth, the Belorussian put a lot of effort to fight Krunic during a number of breaks to make it possible. She returned to serving well against the 25-year-old before consolidating for a break in the sixth. The former number one gained her fourth straight win over the Serb putting herself in a 5-2 hold.
With the need to dig in and pleas from her coach during the break, Krunic managed to hold against Azarenka during deuce to extend the set. She couldn’t keep it going in the eight as the Belorussian delivered a strong service hold landing a winner in the end, completing 42 minutes.
A steady show of play had the two holding serve through four games with each making a point to find full control. Azarenka drew first to break in the fifth but allowed a break for Krunic committing her fourth double fault of the match. The score was even once again with the Serb trying to turn the game back around but only resulted in Azarenka getting back the lead in the seventh.
Gaining the momentum was key for the former number one who had Krunic under pressure while playing for the match. The Serb gave in to her own demise as she handed Azarenka two match points to conclude a pleasing day in 1 hour and 21 minutes. While it was a smooth outing in her first clay-court match, the competition becomes challenging as she’ll face Karolina Pliskova in the second round.
