Azarenka routs Sharapova in Australian Open final

Victoria Azarenka of Belarus absolutely routed Maria Sharapova of Russia Saturday night to not only claim the 2012 Australian Open title, but also to take over the World No. 1 ranking.

The match was over in just 1 hour 22 minutes as Azarenka handily took down three-time Grand Slam winner Sharapova 6-3, 6-0, winning 12 of the last 13 games after dropping her first service game and falling behind 2-0.

It was Azarenka’s first Grand Slam final appearance, winning 11 straight matches to get there. Her previous best performance at a major was a semifinal loss to Petra Kvitova at Wimbledon last year.

Australian Open Final set – Azarenka vs. Sharapova

Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova are set for a final battle with nothing more on the line than the Australian Open Title, and the World No. 1 ranking.

In one semifinal, the No. 4 seed, Sharapova, showing a remarkable comeback after shoulder surgery, defeated the No. 2 seed, Petra Kvitova in a close contest, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4. No one has ever come back this far after the type of surgery she has had.

In the other semifinal, No. 3 seed, Azarenka, downed No. 11 seed Kim Clijsters in an equally close match, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.

Azarenka defeats Clijsters to gain first major final

No. 3 seed, Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, won a hard-fought semifinal match over No. 11 seed, Kim Clijsters of Belgium, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, to advance to her first ever major final at the 2012 Australian Open.

Azarenka won the first set 6-4, then fell apart to lose the 2nd set 1-6. Clijsters was broken early in the 3rd set, but surged back, saving many game points to break back. Azarenka, however, stayed strong, breaking three times in the third set to secure victory in only her second appearance in the semifinal of a major.

Clijsters knocks Wozniacki from the top ranking

In a close match, Kim Clijsters of Belgium has effectively knocked Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark from her perch as World No. 1. In the Quarterfinals of the Australian Open, Clijsters defeated Wozniacki in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6(7-4).

Wozniacki will now be usurped by either Victoria Azarenka, Petra Kvitova, or Maria Sharapova, all three of whom are still in contention.

Clijsters dominated from the baseline for much of the match, and showed no visible effects from the twisted ankle she suffered against Na Li in the fourth round.

Makarova downs Serena Williams in stunning upset

In a stunning upset, No. 56 ranked Ekaterina Makarova of Russia defeated No. 12 seed, Serena Williams of the USA in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3 in round 4 of the Australian Open.

Williams had seven double faults, several to set up break points, to allow Makarova to earn one of the biggest wins of her career. Makarova now advances to the quarterfinals against either 2008 champion Maria Sharapova or Sabine Lisicki

Williams came into the tournament with a badly-injured left ankle that forced her to pull out of a warmup tournament in Brisbane two weeks ago. In the match she appeared to be moving well, but made 37 unforced errors and had her service broken while trying to stay in the match.

Clijsters tops Na Li in three-set thriller

No. 5 seed, Kim Clijsters of Belgium survived a 3-set thriller against No. 5 seed, Na Li of China 4-6, 7-6(8-6), 6-4, in a repeat of last year’s Australian Open Final.

Clijsters twisted an ankle badly in the seventh game. After taking an injury time out to have it taped, she lost the first set 6-4. Na Li served for the second set at 5-4, but Clijsters broke serve, and the 2nd set ended up going into a tie-break. Li was then up 6-2 in the tie-break, with four match points. With Li suffering from close-out-the-match jitters, Clijsters saved those four match points, winning six points in a row to take the tie-break at 8-6.

Zheng Jie upsets Bartoli at Melbourne

No. 38 Zheng Jie of China pulled a major upset over No. 9 seed Marion Bartoli of France, posting a 6-3, 6-3 win in round 3 of the 2012 Australian Open.

It took just under an hour and a half for Zheng to get the job done. She raced out to a 4-0 lead before Bartoli finally held serve. Zheng then closed out the set at 6-3, and repeated the same score in the second set, joining compatriot Li Na in the round of 16, who won 3-0, Retired over No. 26 seed, Anabel Medina Garrigues.

Makarova stuns Zvonareva in round 3

In an all Russian match, No. 56 ranked Ekaterina Makarova stunned No. 7 seed, Vera Zvonareva in straight sets, 7-6(7), 6-1 in the 3rd round of the Australian Open.

The first set was hard fought and very competitive, coming down to Makarova pulling out a hard-fought tie-break. The 2nd set was all Makarova, with Zvonareva breaking down in tears just before match point. Apparently, Zvonareva still hasn’t conquered her emotions afterall.

The unseeded Russian nailed crucial break points in the second and the sixth games to wrap up victory with a breadstick at 6-1, marching into the fourth round of this Grand Slam event.

Wozniacki cruises into round 4 over Niculescu

Caroline Wozniacki cruised into the 4th round of the 2012 Australian Open with a straight sets win over Monica Niculescu.

World No. 1 Wozniacki had little trouble against No. 32 ranked Niculescu, closing out the match 6-2, 6-2.

Niculescu broke serve when Wozniacki was serving for the match at 5-1, but it was too little too late. Wozniacki closed out the match on the next game, and completed the match in one hour 16 minutes.

Wozniacki had 23 winners and three aces in her third round victory.

Kvitova downs Suarez Navarro at Melbourne to advance to round 3

Petra Kvitova, world No. 2 of the Czech Republic, narrowly escaped in a close match over No. 58 ranked Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 on Thursday to advance to the 3rd round of the 2012 Australian Open.

The reigning Wimbledon champion, Kvitova, won the first set easily but became visibly frustrated as she lost the second and had to come from a break down in the third to pull out the match.