Agencies
Rome, May 11: Victoria Azarenka’s clay court preparations suffered another setback after the fourth seed went down to Irina-Camelia Begu 3-6, 2-6 in the second round Rome WTA Masters here Wednesday. The Belarusian who had withdrawn from the Barcelona Open due to illness will thus enter the Roland Garros courts with very little clay match practice under her belt.
However, there were no such problems for third seed Garbine Muguruza of Spain. She thrashed Ekaterina Makarova of Russia 6-1, 6-0 in just 45 minutes to enter the third round.
In another stunning development Canadian Eugene Bouchard, who has dropped out of the top 10 because of injuries, defeated second-seeded Angelique Kerber 6-1, 5-7, 7-5 in a tie lasting 145 minutes.
Earlier Tuesday evening, top seed Serena Williams got her clay court season off to a strong start with a 6-4, 6-3 win over 51st-ranked Anna-Lena Friedsam in the second round. Having missed the Madrid Open last week due to a fever, top-ranked Williams showed no signs of illness, sending down crushing returns of serve for winners and dictating the long rallies.
“I love the clay and it just really felt good out there tonight (Tuesday),” Serena said. “I was really happy with my level. I think I was really consistent. … I was really concerned how it would be just running and moving and recovering. But it was fun.”
The 22-year-old Friedsam reached the fourth round of the Australian Open this year and showed off a strong first serve, hitting six aces — one less than Williams — but was otherwise overmatched.
“It wasn’t an easy match,” Williams said. “She’s an up-and-coming player. She played well and gave me a tough challenge.”