Belarusian second seed Sabalenka won 6-3 6-2 to claim her second Grand Slam singles trophy without dropping a set.
Browsing: Victoria Azarenka
Azarenka, 31, won a bronze medal for Belarus in singles and a gold in mixed doubles at the 2012 Summer Games in London. Kerber, 33, won the silver in singles for Germany at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Twenty-five players – thought to mostly be qualifiers – on board the flight from Doha to Melbourne must isolate in their room for 14 days.
Former world number one Azarenka, who has been in top form since tennis restarted following its pandemic-enforced hiatus, needed a medical time-out in the second set.
The 39-year-old Williams, a three-time winner at Roland Garros, had arrived in Paris carrying an Achilles injury that prompted her to skip the Rome tune-up event.
The Belarussian, who moaned about the cold and damp conditions in her opening round win, capitulated in feeble fashion against her 161st-ranked opponent.
But she still won 6-1 6-2 for a first round victory, in spite of the conditions and her complaints.
The 22-year-old won the US Open in 2016 and Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2017
Williams looked supreme in the first set as a US Open final rematch against Naomi Osaka beckoned but Azarenka fought back superbly to win 1-6 6-3 6-3.
The match ended in dramatic fashion when both Mertens and Sabalenka were drawn into the net and Barty sent a lob over both their heads.
Former world number one Victoria Azarenka was afraid that becoming pregnant in 2016 would end her tennis career, but says she returned to the game stronger after the birth of her son.
Two-time grand slam champion Victoria Azarenka has welcomed a familiar face back to her team after what has been a mixed season.
Reigning Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber has split from coach Wim Fissette, the player’s entourage announced Tuesday.
Azarenka, who has been given a wild card into the year’s opening Grand Slam, is involved in a legal battle with her former partner over the custody of their son Leo and will now have her start to the new season delayed.
Joyce was part of Sharapova’s team between 2004 and 2011, during which time she won the 2006 US Open, 2008 Australian pen and became world No. 1.
Azarenka posted via Twitter on Thursday that she is “faced with a difficult situation which may not allow me to return to work right away.”
Watson appeared to be focused at the beginning of the game, winning the first set but she struggled to stay on, giving Azarenka the upper hand on centre court
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Azarenka had given birth to son Leo in December and had not played a competitive match since last year’s French Open
The two-time Australian Open champion and former world number one had to retire from her opening round tie against Karin Knapp at Roland Garros with the problem