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Victoria Azarenka is officially into the semi-finals of the 2023 Australian Open. But before the tournament started, if we are being brutally honest, not many people thought she could go this far. And even fewer people probably thought that she could go on and win the thing. Yet here she is, a 33-year-old veteran of the game who is competing in her 15th Australian Open main draw.
Looking ahead to the semi-finals, I see no reason why she wouldn’t be one of the red-hot favorites to win the tournament at the minute. She produced an unbelievable performance earlier today to beat Jessica Pegula, one of the main title contenders. And truth be told, I didn’t believe that she had the game required to beat Pegula given how well the American has been playing recently.
But Azarenka clearly had other ideas when she went out there and dismantled Pegula by a score of 6-4, 6-1. Because of this result, she will face the Wimbledon champion, Elena Rybakina in the semi-finals. Yet we do not yet know who the other two players will be concerning the semi-finals from the bottom half of the draw.
Regardless of how those other games play out, however, I really do feel that Azarenka could win the 2023 Australian Open. Let me tell you why.
Azarenka to Win the Australian Open 2023 – Not Unlikely at All
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At the time of writing, Azarenka is the third-highest seed left in the draw. The only players seeded above her are Sabalenka, who plays in the quarter-finals tonight, and Rybakina – her opponent for the next match. With that said, none of the players left in the draw have the kind of experience that Azarenka does. And there are other reasons why I think she can go all the way too:
Two-Time Australian Open Winner
Perhaps the biggest justification of them all is the fact that Azarenka has won this tournament twice in the past. Sure, these titles were a long time ago. And back in 2012/2013, Azarenka was obviously a different player than she is today. But I don’t mean that in a negative sense, not by any means.
Adding to that, she will have the belief that she can win the tournament as she’s already done it previously.
The Stage of Her Career
We are seeing an interesting shift in the sport of tennis. Players in their early to mid-30s are displaying the form of their lives. Just look at Djokovic and Nadal in the men’s game! And in my opinion, it’s the more relaxed mindset of knowing that your better days are probably behind you which allows for a looser style of tennis.
Bear in mind Azarenka is also a mother, so she’s got much bigger fish to fry away from the court I’m sure.
The Way She Is Playing
Finally, it’s tough to ignore the way she is competing out there. Pegula was in incredible form before this last match, yet Azarenka went out there and schooled her. She also destroyed Madison Keys after losing the first set too. And if this kind of form continues, she has every chance to win her third Australian Open.
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