MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — After 25 Grand Slam tournaments, Victoria Azarenka is through to her first final. Maria Sharapova, her opponent in Saturday’s Australian Open title decider, has been there five times before, and won three.
That’s all history from Azarenka’s perspective.
Azarenka and Sharapova are two of the loudest “grunters” in women’s tennis. Others refer to it as shrieking, and Azarenka’s is more in alto, while Sharapova’s is a tad higher on the musical scale.
When the pair last played at Key Biscayne, Fla., last year, Azarenka said she felt her grunt was quieter than Sharapova’s.
At Rod Laver Arena this year, fans have started to mimic Azarenka during her matches. Stay tuned for more of the same when the fans hear it from both sides of the court Saturday.
The 22-year-old Azarenka and 24-year-old Sharapova are 3-3 in head-to-head meetings. But Azarenka holds the edge in two finals, having beaten Sharapova in straight sets at Stanford in 2010 and in Florida last year.
Instead of thinking dominance, Azarenka thinks Sharapova might be out for revenge.
If Azarenka wins the final, she would be only the third player to rise to the top ranking after her first Grand Slam win. Martina Navratilova rose to No. 1 for the first time after winning Wimbledon in 1978, while Ana Ivanovic did the same after winning the 2008 French Open.
A win by Sharapova would mark the fourth time in the Russian’s career that she’s held the top ranking, the most recent in June 2008. Overall, she’s been No. 1 for 17 nonconsecutive weeks.
Azarenka, by beating Clijsters in the semifinals, took her winning streak to 11 matches after claiming the Sydney International title ahead of the Australian Open.
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