Azarenka to Meet Halep in U.S. Open Quarterfinals

For the fourth year in a row, Victoria Azarenka finds herself in the U.S. Open quarterfinals. The Belarusian was the first player to advance on Monday as she beat American Varvara Lepchenko 6-3, 6-4 on Arthur Ashe Stadium. Azarenka broke Lepchenko to start things off in the third game and another one later allowed her to take the first set in 39 minutes. 

Azarenka broke for a 5-3 lead in the second and had an opportunity to serve out the match, but Lepchenko put up one last fight, breaking to stay in the match. But Azarenka would not be denied, and closed things out in the next game, hitting a fantastic cross-court forehand winner on match point for the break and the victory.

“I didn’t really go for my shots at 5-3 and she’s the sort of player that doesn’t give much rhythm and it’s difficult to time her balls” said Azarenka. “When I wasn’t aggressive enough I was in trouble and so in the final game I just tried to go for it.”

Azarenka and Lepchenko both had 19 winners, and the match was closer than the score might indicate, but the two-time Grand Slam champion got the break points when she needed them to move on in straight sets.

Azarenka will next play second-seeded Romanian Simona Halep, who will be making her first ever appearance in the U.S. Open quarterfinals. 

Halep came back from a set down to beat 24th-seeded German Sabine Lisicki 6-7(6), 7-5, 6-2.

The second ranked player in the world battled through the heat and some injuries to overcome the big-serving Lisicki. After forcing a third set, Halep broke for a 4-2 lead in the deciding third with a fantastic drop shot on break point. She held serve in the following game and then broke at love to close out Lisicki and complete the comeback.

“She played unbelievable,” said Halep of her opponent. “I was fighting until the end. I did everything I could to win the match.”

Azarenka has won both of the previous matches with Halep, but the two haven’t played since 2012. 

“The next round will be very tough,” Halep said. “She is a great champion. It’s a big challenge. For me, it’s a new day, it’s a new match.”

Azarenka said of Halep, "I think her game speaks for itself. She's very solid from the baseline. She has kind of all the shots. For not such a tall player, she has a pretty good serve … so she has a lot of weapons."