By Satya Rath/Doha


Victoria Azarenka’s love affair with the Qatar Total Open began in 2012. She won the title that year, after her first-round loss in 2011 which was her first appearance in Doha. The Belarusian repeated the feat the following year, but a foot injury forced her to skip last year’s tournament.
Coming into yesterday’s semifinal clash against the resurgent Venus Williams, the two-time champion was on a 13-match win streak on the hard courts of the Khalifa International Tennis Complex. Today, she could well become the first three-time winner of the Qatar Open.
History, though, favoured Azarenka’s opponent. The resurgent American had never lost to the 25-year-old Azarenka in their previous four clashes. But then, the 34-year-old American, a five-time Wimbledon and two-time US Open champion, had never made it beyond the second round in Doha in her previous two appearances, in 2008 and 2014.
When Venus won the first set 6-2 in 40 minutes, banging in winner after winner and serving fast and deep, with Azarenka looking a little dazed and nervous by her onslaught as her four double-faults showed, it looked like the Belarusian’s win streak in Doha would come to an end.
But that was perhaps the shake-up Azarenka needed. She looked a different player in the second set, her erratic first serve became accurate, her net-play was impeccable, and her angled returns had the kick to unstable Venus.
She broke Venus’ serve twice, in the fifth and seventh games of the second set, to take it 6-2, and then again in the first and third games of the deciding third to make her third final in Doha, and extend her win streak to 14 matches. Venus did initiate a fightback by breaking Azarenka’s serve in the eighth but that only just delayed the inevitable. The final score read 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 after two hours and 18 minutes of energy-sapping but high intensity tennis.
Venus praised her opponent’s game after the defeat. “Honestly, she just went for everything and they landed at the right spots, and sometimes that’s what happens. I don’t think she played a bad first set, but I was on top of it. And then she literally just went for broke. I guess maybe she felt like she had to do that to stay into the match. So it was a little bit unlucky for me that all those shots landed that she was hitting, because they were just unbelievable shots. Usually not all those shots land, and it was just her day today,” the American said.
“I thought I played well,” she added. “I thought I served the best that I had in this tournament, and I think I had my opportunities. I think I missed a handful of shots, especially in the third set, that could have helped me out. But I don’t think I played bad today.”
Azarenka will meet Lucie Safarova in today’s final, against whom the Belarusian wild card has a 6-0 head-to-head advantage. Safarova earlier extended her win-loss record to three-nil against Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro 6-3, 6-2.
Czech Safarova had just too much power and variety for her Spanish opponent. It was another sparkling performance by the unseeded world number 15, after her imperious win over German sixth seed Andrea Petkovic in Thursday’s quarterfinals.
Safarova was in her elements right from the start, serving big and deep and hitting stunning winners from unplayable angles. She broke Suarez Navarro twice each in both sets, and barring a break of serve once in the first, almost completely dominated their one-hour 17-minute clash.
Suarez Navarro, who stunned top seed Petra Kvitova in three sets in the quarterfinals—her second straight win over the Czech world number four in two weeks following her triumph in Dubai—had never made it beyond the first round in Doha in her last two appearances. Yesterday, her single-handed backhand, the Spaniard’s most potent weapon, proved ineffective against the all-court power game of Safarova, who moved well and rushed to the net at the first opportunity to negate her opponent’s deep returns.
This is Safarova’s best performance in Doha, following her quarterfinal run in 2012. The 28-year-old Czech is now just a win away from what will be her maiden WTA Premier title. Naturally, she sounded excited when she came in for her post-match comments.
“I felt pretty confident from the beginning. I was feeling that my game is working against Carla. And that was the plan, to play aggressive and take her time away because she’s very good in defence. And she can also, from her backhand side, play very strong. So I was trying to push more through the forehand and be the first one who is taking the point,” Safarova described her strategy.
She also said she felt she was playing at her best now. “Yeah, I think so. It’s been going on for some time now. I had a really good last season and I’ve been working hard in the off-season. So I think, yeah, I’m playing at my best,” she said, while adding that she was ready for the final, whoever the opponent. “I will do everything for it (title) tomorrow. There is a tough match ahead. So whoever from those two, Venus or Vika, wins, it will be a tough match but I’m looking forward to it.”
Her target for the year is to break into the top 10, which can happen if she wins the title in Doha. “Well, that’s the target. My best so far is 14, so it’s always a dream to come into the top 10, but for that everything has to click together. But that’s my goal for now and that’s what I will try for.”
In the doubles final, India’s Sania Mirza and her Chinese Taipei partner Su-Wei Hsieh will take on the American pair of Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears. Sania and Hsieh put up another dominating display against the Taipei-Australian tandem of Hao-Ching Chan and Casey Dellacqua, winning 6-2, 6-4.

Semi-final RESULTS: Singles: L Safarova (CZE) bt 9-C Suarez Navarro (ESP) 6-3, 6-2; V Azarenka (BLR) bt 7-V Williams (USA) 2-6, 6-2, 6-4; Doubles: 1-S Hsieh (TPE)/S Mirza (IND) vs H Chan (TPE)/C Dellacqua (AUS) 6-2, 6-4; 4-R Kops-Jones (USA)/A Spears (USA) bt 2-E Makarova (RUS)/E Vesnina (RUS) 6-4, 6-1
FINAL: Singles: L Safarova (CZE) vs V Azarenka (BLR); Doubles: 4-R Kops-Jones (USA)/A Spears (USA) vs 1-S Hsieh (TPE)/S Mirza (IND)