With an average of more than four winners per game, the first set of the first round match between Victoria Azarenka and Fiona Ferro turned out to be a festival on Monday in the very first session of play at the US Open 2023.
Unfortunately for the 26-year-old Frenchwoman, in the middle of a “ranking up” operation and passed in three months from 465th to 182nd place in the world, it was the Belarusian who placed the most untouchable balls during this first set that she won 6-1 (19 winners against 10, for only 5 unforced errors against 7).
The Masters not out of reach
22nd in the WTA rankings this week, semi-finalist at the Australian Open in January, Azarenka absolutely did not loosen her grip afterwards, facing a slightly fatalistic Ferro, who failed to stem the violence of the opposing strikes and lost in 1h16 (6-1, 6-2, with in the end 30 winning moves for Azarenka).
Finalist at the WTA 125 tournament in Barranquilla, Colombia, ten days ago, Ferro should nevertheless be very close to the top 100 by the end of the year if she continues on this path. Azarenka, she can still dream of the Masters this year, at 34, in the event of a great course at Flushing Meadows. In the second round, she will be opposed to the winner of the match between the Egyptian Mayar Sherif (33rd) and the Chinese Zhu Lin (44th).
