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In both the women’s semifinals, the winners displayed true grit and resilience. While Maria Sharapova was always known to be a great fighter who doesn’t give up till the end, Victoria Azarenka coming back after the loss of the 2nd set was something unexpected that too against Kim Clijsters who pulled off two remarkable fights in her favour against Li Na and Caroline Wozniacki in the previous two rounds.
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Kim was gracious to recognize the spirit of her younger opponent and she went out of her way to congratulate Azarenka. Kim’s last outing here at the Open hasn’t exactly gone according to the fairy-tale script she must have had in mind. Nevertheless, another great fighter bows out.
The Sharapova – Kvitova match was one where both the girls didn’t budge an inch. While Kvitova had a slow start, Sharapova had to contend with a Kvitova fightback in the 2nd set. The 3rd set saw two breaks being exchanged early and all the games provided plenty of chances for both the players. Till the very last game when Kvitova couldn’t save the match points, both the players saved several break points. Kvitova was gritty even in a losing cause while Sharapova’s famed fighting spirit took center stage yet again.
Azarenka is known to be mentally fragile but, her fightback after being mauled in the 2nd set and again being broken late in the 3rd set when she was ahead, shows that she might have turned the corner. She joked that she was branded a nut case not too long ago but, she looks to be a worthy contender for being the new No.1 and a maiden Slam to boot, would be an added bonus.
One trouble with watching the finals featuring these two winners would be the unbearable noise levels. Both have the loudest grunts in the game and it would be an acoustic nightmare for the ear drums. Azarenka has modeled her on-court body language on Maria and the fighting spirit that Maria has, also seems to have rubbed-off on the Belarusian. Should be a great finale provided we see the match on MUTE till the end of the match.
