Defending Champ Azarenka Out in Melbourne as Radwanska Moves on to Semis
Agnieszka Radwanska overcame a seven-match losing streak to defending champ Victoria Azarenka on Wednesday to move into the semifinals at the Australian Open after her two-hour, 6-1, 5-7, 6-0 victory.
"It's hard to play someone I've lost to so many times before—and she's a great player, especially here, she's playing amazing tennis," Radwanska said. "On the other hand, I really had nothing to lose. She was defending the title, not me. I just tried to play my best tennis and go for every shot I could. I'm just very happy because I was really playing great tennis."
Awaiting Radwanska for a trip to the finals is Dominika Cibulkova, who reached the second Grand Slam semifinal of her career at the Australian Open, after her 6-3, 6-0 win over the number 11-seed, Simona Halep. Cibulkova, the number 20 seed, has now scored three upsets in a row, including the 16th-seeded Carla Suárez Navarro, number three seed Maria Sharapova, and on Wednesday, Halep. Cibulkova appeared in the French Open semis was almost five years ago.
"I can look at it like a lost opportunity, but there's nothing else I can do right now,” said Azarenka after the match. “What I have to think about is what I have to do better next time. It's just the beginning. If I thought I wasn't able to do much better than today, it's better to just stop playing tennis. But I know I can do a lot better. I can't take away what she did today though … she played amazing."
Radwanska has defeated Cibulkova five out of six career meetings. In the other semifinals matchup, it will be Eugenie Bouchard of Canada, the number 30 seed, taking on the four seed, Na Li of China
