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Match details
Fixture: Victoria Azarenka vs Barbara Haas
Date: 1 September 2020
Tournament: US Open 2020
Round: First round (Round of 128)
Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York, USA
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Outdoor hardcourt
Prize money: $39,024,000
Match timing: 4:30 pm EDT, 2 am IST
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel / ESPN | India - Star Sports / Hotstar
Victoria Azarenka vs Barbara Haas preview
Western and Southern Open champion Victoria Azarenka faces the 139th-ranked Barbara Haas as she begins her campaign at the 2020 US Open on Tuesday.
The two-time Australian Open winner would be raring to go after recording her best performance in four years. The former world number one brushed aside all her personal struggles that had ravaged her career since 2016 and put up a vintage performance that so reminded everyone of the Azarenka of yore.
The 31-year-old had arrived at the Western & Southern Open in New York without a single win all year but smashed through the draw to leave everyone trailing in her wake. With wins over 15th seed Donna Vekic, Caroline Garcia, Alize Cornet, and eighth seed Johanna Konta, Victoria Azarenka surged to her first title since 2016 Miami, marking her first title win after becoming a mother.
Azarenka's first-round opponent at the US Open, Barbara Haas, has won just three main-draw matches on the WTA Tour all year, with two of them coming at the 125K level. She has made the main draw of a Major only once in her career, which happened to be at the 2016 US Open.
Haas' first match on tour resumption also did not go her way at the Palermo Open where she fell in the first round of qualifying.
Victoria Azarenka vs Barbara Haas head-to-head
Victoria Azarenka and Barbara Haas have never locked horns on the tour, so their head-to-head record ahead of their US Open clash stands at 0-0.
Victoria Azarenka vs Barbara Haas prediction
Despite not meeting her opponent before, Victoria Azarenka holds the aces in all departments. She is a former world number one while the highest ranking Haas has ever achieved is 133, which she did so in February this year. The Belarusian has 21 singles titles and eight doubles titles in her resume, but the Austrian is yet to open her account in either category.
Clearly, Barbara Haas hasn't arrived with the form or results needed to make a dent in the high-flying Victoria Azarenka's sails. Azarenka looks too solid at the moment and will be determined to follow up her Cincinnati title win with a deep run at the Slam where she has twice been a runner-up.
Victoria Azarenka looks hungry and motivated to get back to where she belonged once. She is playing with controlled aggression and freely aiming for the lines, which is such a trademark feature of the Belarusian's game. It doesn't look likely that Azarenka will stop anytime soon.
Prediction: Victoria Azarenka to win in straight sets
