Azarenka claims mental strength assisted in big win over Svitolina

Two-time Doha champion Victoria Azarenka overcame pain and medical treatment to oust top seed Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals of the 2021 Qatar Open on Thursday.

The eighth seed needed only 85 minutes to escape with the 6-2 6-4 victory, improving her undefeated record against the Ukrainian to 4-0.

Despite taking a medical timeout to deal with persistent back pain, the former World No.1 battled through, displaying her grit as she hit 25 winners during the match.

“I really just tried to focus on what I could do, and not think about anything else, and try to find solutions and use every opportunity I had to play,” Azarenka said in her post-match interview.

Moving into her 60th career WTA semifinal, the two-time Grand Slam champion relied on her experience and fighting spirit to overcome her back ailment, relentlessly attacking Svitolina's serves with her intimidating groundstrokes.

“I just tried to play point by point and not think about the score, how long it’s going to take to play, if it’s going to be two sets or three sets,” Azarenka added. “I’m really proud of the way I handled it mentally and how I approached this match.”

In a clash between former World No.1's, Azarenka will face the resurgent Garbine Muguruza in the semifinals. The Spaniard made short work of Maria Sakkari in her quarterfinal match, prevailing 6-3 6-1 in a one-sided battle.