On a day of grass-court tennis where a lot of top women’s singles seeds were defeated, former world number one Victoria Azarenka battled through physical pain and won her second-round match against the Frenchwoman Alize Cornet at Bad Homburg Open.

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After winning the first set, the Belarusian lost her way in the second as Cornet began playing some of her best tennis. When it comes to the deciding set, Azarenka had to take a medical time-out in what appeared to be an abdominal issue.

Post the time-out, it was Cornet who had the upper hand and seemed to be cruising ahead with the match. But, the Belarusian saved a couple of match points at 5-6 to force a tie-breaker.

 “Proud of the way I fought” – Victoria Azarenka on her inspiring victory against Alize Cornet

A couple more match points were saved by Victoria Azarenka in the tie-breaker before stealing the match away from Alize Cornet. Talking about her injury post-match, the Belarusian credited Venus Williams for being an inspiration.

“I felt I was in control, then didn’t have the best physical condition. Proud of the way I fought. I had Venus in my head b/c she’s an inspiration for me. Every time she plays and has some pains, she tries her best”, Azarenka told.

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One of the best fighters on-court, Venus Williams has battled through a lot of injuries in her legendary career. Her most-recent injury came at the 2021 Australian Open against Sara Errani.

During a net exchange, the American hurt her right ankle while playing a forehand passing shot. Despite her pain, the American didn’t give up on the match and kept on fighting till the very end.

In fact, there were a few forehand return winners hit by Venus as she struggled with the knee pain. Even though she lost the match 1-6,0-6, her intention to continue to fight was lauded by the tennis community earlier this year.

Just like Venus, even Azarenka faced a lot of issues in her personal life before making a swash-buckling comeback at the US hard-court series last year. The Belarusian won the Cincinnati Open and became the runner-up at the US Open.

Even though she is yet to win a singles title this year, Azarenka won a doubles title at the WTA Berlin Open last week, where she partnered with compatriot Aryna Sabalenka. The duo already confirmed their participation in the doubles event at Tokyo Olympics.

UPSET! World No.106 Thrashes Victoria Azarenka at WTA Berlin 2021 Semifinals