Tuesday 08 / October / 2024
London: Simona Halep sent new mum Victoria Azarenka packing 7-6 (3), 6-2 in the fourth round on Monday as a litany of second-set errors put paid to the Belarussian's dreams of a fairytale Wimbledon comeback.
Azarenka, playing in her second tournament after the birth of her son Leo in December, out-hit and out-thought the second-seeded Romanian for much of a pulsating first set, mixing deep groundstrokes with frequent dropshots and forays to the net.
But the two-time semifinalist at the All England Club began to flag in the first-set tiebreak, losing it 7-3 before conceding the next five games.
A mini fightback pegged the second-set deficit back to 5-2 before another Azarenka backhand groundstroke error saw Halep home in just under 90 minutes, keeping alive the Romanian's hopes of a maiden grand slam victory and an ascent to the world number one ranking.
Halep will face Britain's Johanna Konta in the quarterfinals.
