Victoria Azarenka faces Julia Goerges in Generali Ladies final

By Alexia Krause

Victoria Azarenka just a victory away from 14th WTA career title at Generali Ladies.

LINZ, Austria (TheSportsNEXT) October 13, 2012: World number one Victoria Azarenka locked horns against fifth-seeded Julia Goerges of Germany in final of the Generali Ladies after they won their respective semi-final encounters in Linz on Saturday.

Victoria Azarenka, who is bidding to win her sixth title of the WTA Tour 2012, blasted Irina Camelia Begu of Romania in virtually no-contest semi-final by 6-2 6-1.

In the other semi-final of the Linz WTA Tournament, Julia Goerges of Germany came from behind in great fashion to stun Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium by 1-6 6-2 6-3.

Belarusian top seeded Victoria Azarenka made sure that she stays on course for her ninth final appearance of 2012 season with a combination of strong serves and ferocious returns as her Romanian opponent had no choice but to drop her shoulders.

Victoria Azarenka is in best form these days as she won Beijing Open title last week and now is just a victory away from her 14^th WTA career title.

It is merit mentioning here that Victoria Azarenka has already won Australian Open title and then augmented her reputation with title victories at Sydney, Doha and Indian Wells.

However, the 23-year-old Belarusian has lost three finals since then including the last month’s US Open final against Serena Williams which left her burst into tears.

Julia Goerges has nothing to lose as the world’s 19^th best women’s tennis player is yet to win her first title of the ongoing season and is also yet to beat Victoria Azarenka in her career. The only time these two players were met in a final was in Qatar where Azarenka got the better of the German woman ace.

Julia Goerges was very much aware of her stakes in final when she told reporters on Saturday, "Obviously I am the underdog, she is the world No. 1. I will try to play my own game, focus on myself and show her how dangerous my game can be."

Talking about Kirsten Flipkens, Goerges said, "She served well so it was hard to get into the match. I am happy I managed to find my game in the second set and win the match”.

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Victoria Azarenka storms into Generali Ladies Semi-Final

By Alexia Krause

LINZ, Austria (TheSportsNEXT) October 13, 2012: World number one Victoria Azarenka of Belarus continued her winning ways in Linz on Friday when she stormed into Semi-Final of the Generali Ladies with a comfortable 6-2 6-2 victory over Petra Martic of Croatia.

 

With this triumph, Victoria Azarenka made her way into 10^th straight Semi-Final of the year as she has witnessed a mammoth Year 2012.

Victoria Azarenka looked in control right from the word go and raced to a 4-0 advantage by winning the first 10 points on offer and never allowed her Croatian opponent, who she was playing for the first time ever, to make a comeback.

Victoria Azarenka told reporters, “I feel like I adjusted really well. Every day I have to push myself. It's not easy, even when it seems easy out there on court.''

The Belarusian world number one women tennis player is in tremendous form this season and is yet to drop even a single set in her last 11 straight matches. After pulling out in the quarterfinals at Tokyo fortnight ago, Victoria Azarenka came back strongly with title victory in Beijing last week.

Victoria Azarenka will be up against either Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the United States or Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania for Semi-Final encounter.

On the other hand, lady luck was not that kind on Ana Ivanovic of Russia who was defeated by Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium in straight sets.

The two-time former Generali Ladies champion Ana Ivanovic looked completely out of color once dethroned in the first set from a position of 3-1 to losing it by 6-4.

It is merit mentioning here that Ana Ivanovic had won the Generali Ladies title in 2008 and 2010.

Kirsten Flipkens, who is ranked 66^th in the WTA Tour Rankings, had entered the Generali Ladies after a qualifying for the main draw, exhibited her hidden talent on the court by winning 11 of the 12 games after trailing by 3-1 in the first set.

She eventually won the match by 6-4 6-0 and she couldn’t hide her feelings when she told reporters, “It's incredible that I've beaten her. I tried to play my own game and switched a lot between attacking and defensive shots. Then Ana started to make more mistakes! I think that was because of the way I was playing”.

Kirsten Flipkens, who recently made an impact on the world women’s tennis by winning her first title in Quebec City last month, will next meet Julia Goerges of Germany for a place in Sunday’s final.

Julia Goerges defeated Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden 6-1 6-4 to reach the Semi-Finals of the Generali Ladies 2012.

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