Wearing headphones, a hoodie that hid her blond braid, and a pair of white shorts as she bounced on her toes in the hallway of Rod Laver Arena, Victoria Azarenka could have passed for a college kid on her way to class. A plugged-in Azarenka continued to school the opposition, winning five of the first six games to power past Iveta Benesova, 6-2, 6-2. She warmed up for Melbourne by winning Sydney, and today Azarenka extended her winning streak to nine matches in becoming the first woman to advance to the Australian Open quarterfinals.
In four matches, Azarenka has surrendered just 12 games. She stumbled a bit finding the finish line at the end of both sets, but Azarenka never seemed too stressed and the outcome never really in doubt.
After an exchange of love holds, Azarenka took charge of the match in a taut fifth game. The loopy back swing Benesova takes on her forehand requires time to execute, which Azarenka knew. She smartly tested the lefty's timing with a series of sharp backhands at her feet. When Benesova knocked a forehand into net to end a seven-minute test of wills, Azarenka had her second break and a 4-1 lead. Her only obstacles were self-imposed—she double faulted twice to fall to 30-30 serving for the set—but spun a high forehand into the corner to earn set point, and benefited from another Benesova forehand into net to collect the opening in 34 minutes.
Perhaps there was an emotional hangover from Lleyton Hewitt's Saturday night heroics, or the mid 80-degree heat, or the fact that it was Sunday morning, but both the crowd and the 46th-ranked Czech seemed disengaged for stretches of the match. Benesova is a talented player who can do a little bit of everything, but lacks one imposing shot, which is one reason why she's 4-36 lifetime against Top 10 opponents.
The third-seeded Azarenka was overwhelming in building a 4-0 second-set lead that she stretched to 5-1 before a brief Benesova rally.
Azarenka will face either eighth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska or No. 22 seed Julia Goerges for a spot in the semis. She’s won two of three meetings with Goerges. Continuing her quest for her first major final, the Belarusian baseliner is one of four women with a shot to seize the No. 1 ranking when the tournament ends, and concedes the possible trip to the top occupies her thoughts.
"Of course I would be a liar if I say I don't care about it: It's a little bit in the back of my head," Azarenka said afterward. "I try to take it day by day and we'll see in one week."
—Richard Pagliaro