"There is no way I am losing that match" - Victoria Azarenka on Australian Open final against Maria Sharapova

Victoria Azarenka recently commented on her win over Maria Sharapova in the 2012 Australian Open final.

Azarenka entered the tournament as the third seed and reached the final following wins over Heather Watson, Casey Dellacqua, Mona Barthel, Iveta Benesova, Agnieszka Radwanska and defending champion Kim Clijsters. She faced fourth seed Maria Sharapova in the final and thrashed her 6-3, 6-0 to win her maiden Grand Slam title. In the process, she also attained the World No. 1 ranking for the first time in her career.

Azarenka spoke about the final during a recent appearance on the podcast Up Front with Simon Jordan. The Belarusian claimed that in her mind she never thought she would lose, even when she was trailing 2-0 in the opening set. Azarenka said that she "switched into gear" and did not look back.

"In the final, I played Sharapova. I was like, 'There is no way I am losing that match. It's not going to happen. I am going to win this match', and I remember I started the match with 2-0 down but I was like, 'No that's going to be my day. Today is going to be my day, and I switched into gear and I never looked back," she said.

Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka locked horns 15 times

Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka after their match at the 2015 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells

Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka squared off on 15 occasions on the WTA tour. Sharapova leads 8-7 in the head-to-head record between the two.

Their first encounter came in the second round of the 2007 Kremlin Cup, with an-18-year-old Azarenka beating the then-World No. 2 Sharapova 7-6(9), 6-2.

The two faced each other in six finals, with the Belarusian winning five of them. The only time Sharapova came out on top in a title clash was at the 2012 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, where she won 6-1, 6-4.

They also locked horns in three Grand Slam fixtures, the first of which was the 2012 Australian Open final. That year, Azarenka also beat Sharapova in the semifinals of the US Open.

The Russian then registered her only Major win over the Belarusian in the final four of the 2013 French Open.

The last meeting between Sharapova and Azarenka came in the quarterfinals of the 2015 Italian Open, with the former winning 6-3, 6-2. She eventually went on to win the tournament with a 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 victory over Carla Suarez Navarro in the final.