Bianca Andreescu defeated the former No.1 Victoria Azarenka at the Aurora Games. The young Canadian player was better than her rival with 6-2.
Aurora Games have a specific format, which is why players play only one set.
Andreescu didn’t mind for the exhibition character of the match but wanted to continue with her excellent result streak. She won the Rogers Cup last week, by defeating Serena Williams in the finals. The American player retired from the contest, with the result 3-1 for her opponent. After that victory, she quickly became a worldwide sensation and a new hope of women’s tennis.
As for the match in Albany, the Belarus champion had a 2-1 lead, before the 19-year old furiously ended their clash. In no time she won five straight games, giving the victory to team Americas over the team World.
The reporters were eager to hear her impressions after the match, and also to find out more about the condition of the knee which bothered her in recent times. According to the youngster, everything is fine at the moment.
Her meeting against Azarenka was the last in the program, and was at the moment of truth for the entire event. Team World had an edge before the start of the clash. For a normal teenager, that would present a huge pressure, but not for Andreescu.
“I had most of the pressure,” she told the reporters. “I play better when there’s a little more pressure on me.”
On the other side, Azarenka was stunned with the motivation of her opponent. The two-time Australian Open winner noticed that although it should be an exhibition match, Andreescu played with her full strength.
“I thought we would be having a little bit more fun,” Azarenka explained the reporters.
The need for a win overwhelmed Andreescu in this contest, and she was very angry at the officials on several occasions, because of their decisions. Azarenka used that to poke her younger opponent following one question about the officiating at the event.
“I don’t care about that,” she said with a laugh, “I’m not 18-years-old.”
In the end, Team Americas defeated Team World with 23-21. Belinda Bencic opened the show with a win over Monica Puig with 6-3. Then, Sofia Kenin won twice in a row against Bencic and Garbine Muguruza, getting back the edge on Team Americas’ side. It was 6-4 against Bencic and 6-3 versus Muguruza.
The doubles went in favor of Team World, with Muguruza and Azarenka quickly dismantling Kenin and Andreescu with 6-2. Entering the final match of the day, Team Americas was behind 19-17.
This is the first time for Aurora Games to take place. It is a competition between the Americas and the World in seven different sports, which lasts for seven days, and is female-only. Besides tennis, we have gymnastics, basketball, ice hockey, table tennis, figure skating, and beach volleyball.
At the moment, athletes from more than twenty-four countries are participating in this event, which has a mission of promoting female sports.
