The 3rd seed Donna Vekic has been in good form so far in 2019 and she is still in contention for the title in Acapulco after a 6-3, 7-5 win over the 8th seed Johanna Konta in an hour and 26 minutes. Donna played better on the second serve, suffering four breaks and erasing that deficit after taking almost 60% of the return points, earning six breaks from ten chances to cross the finish line and move into the last four. They traded breaks at the start of the match and it was Donna who controlled the pace in the rest of the opener, breaking Johanna at 4-3 and clinching the set with a good hold in game nine for a 6-3. The second set saw dreadful serving from both and they exchanged six breaks in the opening nine games, with Konta delivering three breaks in a row to open a 5-3 lead. Staying confident and composed, Donna pulled the break back at love in game nine and never looked back, securing another one at 5-5 and sealing the deal with an ace in game 12. An 18-year-old Canadian Bianca Andreescu took down the 7th seed Saisai Zheng 7-6, 6-1 in just under two hours, surviving the marathon opening set and racing towards the finish line with a fabulous performance in the second. The Canadian repelled ten out of 12 break points, a vast majority of those in the first set, earning four breaks to hold the strings of the match in her hands in set number two. From 4-0 down, Zheng rattled off five games in a row to overcome the deficit and the battle switched into a tie break after four good holds on both sides, with Bianca winning it 7-3 to gain a massive boost before the rest of the encounter. At 1-1 in set number two, Andreescu grabbed the remaining five games and she will now face Sofia Kenin in the battle for the place in the final. The 5th seeded American prevailed against Victoria Azarenka 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 after two hours and 32 minutes in the match of the day, despite hitting 13 double faults! Both players faced 13 break chances and Sofia won just two points more in the end, taking the last three games of the match to leave Vika empty handed even though she served for the victory at 5-4. A former world no. 1 broke in the third game of the encounter with a return winner, opening a 4-2 advantage before Sofia started to fight back, breaking Azarenka at 3-4 and once again in the tenth game to steal the set with four straight games on her tally. The second set offered seven breaks of serve in ten games and the Belarusian grabbed four of those, squandering the lead once again before moving 5-4 up with a beautiful volley winner, clinching the set with a hold at 15 to set up a decider. There, Sofia sprayed a backhand error at 4-4 to lose serve and allow Vika to serve out for the win, although it wasn't to be for a multiple Grand Slam champion, hitting a double fault to lose serve at love and sending Kenin over the top after another poor service game at 5-6.<doc-sep>MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 15: Victoria Azarenka of Belarus plays a forehand in her first round match against Laura Siegemund of Germany during day two of the 2019 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 15, 2019 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images) After reaching the Australian Open semifinals, Danielle Collins is someone to watch in women’s tennis. She falls to Victoria Azarenka in Acapulco. Victoria Azarenka is a former world number one and two-time Australian Open champion in women’s singles tennis. While she has played intermittently on the WTA Tour in the past two years following the birth of her son, Azarenka still has the skills necessary to be a top contender in women’s singles. She took on the Acapulco second seed during her opener. American Danielle Collins entered the Mexican Open as the second seed behind just tennis star Sloane Stephens. After her semifinals run at Melbourne Park, Collins has become someone to watch on the 2019 WTA Tour. At the Mexican Open though, it is veteran experience that outlasts the surging Collins. Azarenka defeats the second seed in Acapulco with ease, cruising to an impressive 6-1, 6-2 victory. Up next for Azarenka is German tennis player Tatjana Maria. Look for Vika to carry her momentum right into her upcoming match. Despite her incredibly accomplished career, Azarenka is not a former champion at the Mexican Open. She could, however, be an interesting pick to take the title this year if she can get through Maria next. Do no discount Azarenka’s experience. If she can string together a set of match wins, Vika will easily tap into her top tennis. At the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy last month, Azarenka fell to top seed Petra Kvitova in her second match. A strong performance in Acapulco will do wonders to boost her confidence moving forward. Want your voice heard? Join the Lob And Smash team! Write for us! Stay tuned to see how far Victoria Azarenka can go at the 2019 Mexican Open this month. She takes on Maria on Wednesday in Acapulco. Keep an eye on Stephens and others such as Johanna Konta, Donna Vekić, and Sofia Kenin.<doc-sep>
By Chris Oddo | Friday March 1, 2019 Sofia Kenin rallied past Victoria Azarenka and reached the semifinals at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel. Photo: Buda Mendes/Getty This time last year American Sonya Kenin was outside the Top 100 and had just a handful of WTA-level wins to her name. In 2019 Kenin is off to a flying start, having claimed her first career title at Hobart. On Thursday in Acapulco she continued her upward trajectory with a marathon three-set win over Victoria Azarenka to book her second semi-final of 2019 where she’ll face rising Canadian Bianca Andreescu. "I've watched her, so many matches. I followed her a lot..." American @SonyaKenin is into the semifinals after defeating Azarenka in three tough sets. @PrakashAmritraj spoke to her after the hard fought win. #AMT2019 pic.twitter.com/EqXdoysIxb — Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) March 1, 2019 Andreescu, who has stormed from outside the Top 150 to her current perch at 71 in the world is just as unlikely of a story. The 18-year-old defeated Caroline Wozniacki and Venus Williams en route to her first career final in Auckland and she’s now 19-2 at all levels (including qualifying) thus far this season. On Thursday she notched a 7-6(3) 6-1 win over China’s Zheng Saisai. 🇨🇦 Bianca Andreescu is into the Semi Finals in Acapulco winning her 10th straight match 7-6 6-1 over Saisai Zheng... BA has dropped just 2 sets in those 10 wins...Now 22-2 in 2019 & up to No. 60 in WTA World Rankings #WTA #AMT2019 pic.twitter.com/GCmiBEZp1A — John Horn (@SportsHorn) March 1, 2019 Third-seeded Donna Vekic, who defeated No.8-seeded Johanna Konta 6-3 7-5, and unseeded Wang Yafan, who defeated Brazilian qualifier Beatriz Haddad Maia, will play the other semi-final in Acapulco. Kenin trailed by a break in all three sets of her 6-4 4-6 7-5 victory over Azarenka but she fired 37 winners to just 21 for Azarenka and broke the Belarussian when she served for the match at 5-4 in the third to prevail in two hours and 32 minutes. “I knew I had to really just play my best in order to win,” Kenin said after the match. “She’s a former No.1 player and Grand Slam champion with so much experience." Both players faced 13 break points in the contest and it was Azarenka who fared worse. The former World No.1 saved only five of 13 break points