Final Facts
- Azarenka wins her second Sony Ericsson Open title in three years, having also triumphed in 2009 (d. S.Williams in final). The 21-year-old is now 6-6 in career WTA singles finals, her other wins coming at Brisbane and Memphis in 2009, and Stanford and Moscow in 2010.
– Azarenka was taken to three sets in her first three matches at Miami, before scoring upsets over world No.2 Kim Clijsters and world No.3 Vera Zvonareva in the quarters and semis respectively; just two weeks ago she was forced to retire from her quarterfinal at Indian Wells with a hip injury.
– Sharapova, who is now 22-12 in career WTA finals, will return to the Top 10 on Monday’s rankings. It will be the Russian’s 240th week in the elite – her first 239 all came consecutively from July 5, 2004 to February 1, 2009.
Final Quotes
Victoria Azarenka, 2011 Sony Ericsson Open singles champion:
“Maria likes to swing big, and when she has time it’s very heavy and coming fast. So I was trying to take time away from her. I think the heat really suits me well – I mean, it feels good! Hardcourt is one of my favorite surfaces, and I’ve just been really working hard for these last two tournaments. I played very good tennis in Indian Wells, and unfortunately got injured. It was amazing for me to come here and step up my game so well.”
Maria Sharapova, 2011 Sony Ericsson Open singles runner-up:
“It’s a bit too late to pick up the pace when you’re down a set and 4-0. I wish I picked it up earlier. But I’m very, very happy about what I’ve achieved in the last three or four weeks. If you saw me 10 weeks ago after I pulled out of Paris, I was in no shape or form to even play a tournament. So it’s amazing I even achieved that. I went to Indian Wells without a lot of expectations – I was sick for almost three weeks. I got myself back in it and I’m definitely proud of that.”