Associated Press
Madrid, May 3: Fourth-seeded Victoria Azarenka continued her fine form, beating Alize Cornet 6-3, 6-2 to win her 16th straight match and advance to the third round of the WTA Madrid Masters here Monday.
Azarenka, seeking her third consecutive title, broke Cornet’s serve five times to maintain her winning streak. The fifth-ranked Belarusian saved seven of the eight breakpoints she conceded to her French opponent at the clay court tournament.
In men’s draw, Frenchmen Richard Gasquet, Gilles Simon and Lucas Pouille advanced to the second round, along with local favorite Feliciano Lopez and 11th-seeded Canadian Milos Raonic.
Azarenka has not lost since the second round at Acapulco in February. The two-time Australian Open champion won tournaments at Indian Wells and Miami heading into Madrid.
“I feel that this year is going to be all about making progress and trying to improve, making errors but still improving,” Azarenka said after her match. “It’s just day by day progress, trying to get the game
together.”
Azarenka next faces 130th-ranked American Louisa Chirico, a 19-year-old qualifier who upset 14th-seeded Ana Ivanovic 5-7, 6-1, 6-3.
Defending champion Petra Kvitova reached the third round also with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Russian qualifier Elena Vesnina. She will next face Australian Daria Gavrilova, who upset 12th-seeded Ukrainian Elina Svitolina 6-2, 7-6 (7-4).
Gasquet, the No. 10 seed in the men’s draw, beat qualifier Roberto Carballes Baena 6-1, 7-6 (7-5), while 11th-seeded Raonic defeated Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci 7-6 (7-4), 6-1, and 16th-seeded Simon got past Marcos Baghdatis 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.
