Australian Open: Laura Siegemund stuns Victoria Azarenka in Round 1

Victoria Azarenka serves to Laura Siegemund during their Australian Open womenu00c3u00a2u00c2u0080u00c2u0099s singles match in Melbourne yesterday. Pics/AFP

Germany's Laura Siegemund ousted former World No. 1 and two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka yesterday to advance to the second round of the Australian Open.

Siegemund rallied from a set and a break deficit to beat the Belarusian 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-2 in a marathon match that lasted for almost three hours, reports Efe news.
The German trailed 7-6(5), 4-2 in the opening set but finally walked away with a dramatic victory. "I played a good first set and even though I was up in the tie-break, I let go a little bit and she was right there," Siegemund said after the match.

Laura Siegemund

'Stayed focused'
"I kind of reset myself and knew I was playing a good match, and I just had to close in those situations. In the third set, I stayed very focused. I knew she wasn't going to hand me the match, and I just had to (take) it," she added. Siegemund will now play against No.28 seed Hsieh Su-wei, who beat Stefanie Voegele in her first round match, 6-2, 6-1.

Halep survives scare
Meanwhile, World No. 1 Simona Halep admitted she was struggling for form after narrowly surviving a first-round scare at the Australian Open, saying she had "no expectations" about how far she can go at the season-opening Grand Slam. The Romanian had to dig deep for a win against Kaia Kanepi, the unseeded Estonian who dumped her from last year's US Open first round. Halep said she was proud of the fight she showed grinding out a 6-7 (2/7), 6-4, 6-2 victory.

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