Azarenka Holds Off Stosur

Victoria Azarenka tamped down a second-set surge from Samantha Stosur to extend her head-to-head dominance over the Australian and book herself a spot in the BNP Paribas Open quarterfinals.
Victoria Azarenka tamped down a second-set surge from Samantha Stosur to win 6-1, 4-6, 6-1, extending her head-to-head dominance over the Australian and booking herself a spot in the BNP Paribas Open quarterfinals.
Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Indian Wells right here on wtatennis.com!
Stosur and Azarenka are familiar opponents, having faced each other nine times previously. Though the Belarusian's eight consecutive wins over Stosur give her a clear advantage, the aggressive way in which she came out firing tonight certainly turned heads - although not for her.
"Not really. I'm not surprised," laughed Azarenka, who in the first set alone created 12 break opportunities and converted three. "I try to stay in the moment for every point. Sam is such a tough player, she has such a tough serve, so whenever I had the opportunity I take it."
After seeing the first set whiz past her in barely half an hour, Stosur managed to stave off Azarenka's momentum in the second. She opened the set by breaking to love, taking advantage of the unforced errors that were beginning to pile up off the Belarusian's racquet. She left Azarenka playing catch-up, taking the second set to level the scoreboard.
Azarenka turned on the pressure in the deciding set, though, and there was not much the Australian could do as Azarenka's aggressive play forced her to go for bigger shots, drawing out the errors. Stosur hit 37 unforced errors to 32 winners, compared to Azarenka's 24 and 25.
With the victory Azarenka is back into the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Open, her first appearance at this stage since 2013.
"I'm just so happy to be back on the court after a tough two years of injuries and really missing the game, missing competition. Sometimes you get a little bit of a different perspective, so I just want to enjoy myself on the court," Azarenka said after the match.
"I'm in a different stage in my career, where I can just play for fun and fight hard and try to do the best I can."
Awaiting in the quarterfinals is Magdalena Rybarikova, who advanced against Roberta Vinci after the Italian was forced to retire in the second set due to a left foot injury, 6-2, 2-0. Azarenka leads the head-to-head against Rybarikova 2-0.

Source: WTA Tennis

Bouchard out, Azarenka to Face Stosur

Switzerland’s Timea Bacsinszky secured her place in the round of 16 of BNP Paribas Open after toughing out a 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 win over Eugenie Bouchard on Monday.
The Swiss World No. 21, a quarterfinalist in Indian Wells last year (l. to S. Williams), took a nasty fall in the first game of the second set and received a medical timeout to have her cuts bandaged. The 26 year old broke her Canadian opponent six times during the contest lasting two hours and 22 minutes.

Bacsinszky will meet Russian Daria Kasatkina, a 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(2) winner over Portugal's Monica Puig. This will be the first meeting between the two players.

After suffering a concussion at the US Open last year, Bouchard played only one one other match for the rest of the season. She has since rebounded to start the year, reaching the quarterfinals in Doha and finals in Kuala Lumpur (l. to Svitolina) and Hobart (l. to Cornet).

"It's a long road back; doing better than expected," Bouchard said. "I feel better about my game. Whether the results come or not."
On Stadium 2, No. 26 seed Samantha Stosur also contested a match that stretched past the two-hour mark. The former semifinalist (’10, l. to Jankovic) edged Christina McHale 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.
Stosur will next face the 2012 champion, Victoria Azarenka, who was tested from the baseline, but played with flashes of her former No. 1 self in a 6-4, 6-3 decision over 2016 success story Zhang Shuai. Azarenka ended the match on a patented forehand winner crosscourt, letting out a cry of “Come on!” as she sealed the victory.

The Belarusian leads her head-to-head with Stosur 8-1, though they haven’t met in nearly three years. It was the Australian who won that most recent meeting, 6-2, 6-3 in Carlsbad.

Source: BNP Paribas Open