VICTORIA Azarenka fought for almost three hours to get past Yulia Putintseva in the quarterfinals of the Miami Open 2024. The Belarusian tennis player clinched her ticket to the semifinals with a 7-6 (7/4), 1-6, 6-3 win over Putintseva of Kazakhstan, Wednesday ( 3/27).

The 34-year-old Azarenka is a three-time champion at the Miami Open in the 2009, 2011 and 2016 editions. She faced a spirited performance from the Moscow-born Kazakh.

The match was stopped for 45 minutes in the fourth game of the first set due to a power outage which affected the referee’s communication and the Hawkeye system.

Azarenka saved three set points on Putintseva’s serve at 5-4 in the first set, then missed two of her own at 6-5 before the tie-break.

Putintseva dominated the second set but Azarenka found the strength to take the lead in the third but her opponent refused to give up, fighting back from match point before breaking serve.

However, Azarenka held her next serve to secure a place in the last four and keep her hopes of a fourth Miami title alive. This victory also shows his great desire to return to competing at the highest level.

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“Yulia played well, she was in good condition and I really had to work harder. I felt my legs gave up a little and I lost a little confidence because she played so well and made me run,” said Azarenka.

“I am motivated to compete and chase my dreams. I have been playing on tour for 20 years and I still feel there is improvement, it is very valuable for me and I want to keep going,” he added.

In the fourth round, Azarenka will face Elena Rybakina, who qualified following beating Maria Sakkari. Rybakina is the highest seed remaining in the tournament following the elimination of world number one Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and third seed Coco Gauff. (AFP/Z-6)