Victoria Azarenka lauds Qinwen Zheng's tweener winner as the "best one" she has seen on the WTA tour
Victoria Azarenka was all praise for Qinwen Zheng's spectacular tweener winner against Maria Sakkari at the Qatar Open.
Zheng served at 2-2 in the second set of her match against Sakkari. She countered Sakkari's powerful forehand shots successfully, forcing the Greek to play a dropshot for a change of pace. Zheng reached the shot with ease and Sakkari countered with a lob. The 20-year-old then produced an incredible tweener passing shot to win the point.
Maria Sakkari eventually won the encounter 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.
Tweener 🤝 QWEENER!
#QatarTennis https://t.co/5utKakfFiv
Victoria Azarenka was very impressed by Zheng's shot and hailed it as the best tweener she has seen on the WTA circuit.
"Qinwen Zheng just absolutely bodied the tweener…best one I have seen on @wta," Azarenka tweeted.
Qinwen Zheng just absolutely bodied the tweener…best one I have seen on @wta
#qatartennis
A fan replied to the former World No. 1 saying that they were not expecting to see a tweener better than the one struck by Alycia Parks against Petra Martic at the Lyon Open earlier in the month.
Azarenka agreed with the fan and praised Alycia Parks' tweener as well.
"That one was crazy too," the two-time Grand Slam champion said.
@josh3302 @WTA That one was crazy too 🔥
Here is a clip of Alycia Parks' tweener against Petra Martic:
@TheRealAParks Tweener. Lob. Winner.
👏 @TheRealAParks 🔥 https://t.co/5kt3RMjoQ4
Victoria Azarenka will face Belinda Bencic next at the Qatar Open
Victoria Azarenka advanced to the Round of 16 in the Qatar Total Energies Open with a comfortable 6-1, 6-1 victory over Ipek Oz of Turkey.
During the post-match interview, Azarenka expressed her sympathy for her opponent whose country is undergoing a terrible tragedy following a magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria on February 6th. The earthquake caused extensive damage and claimed the lives of 37,000 individuals.
"It was our first meeting and I'm sure it was very hard for her to go out on court and play right now, so I wish her strength so hopefully somehow, someway, things can get better" she said.
The World No. 17 also walked out to the court with a Turkish flag wrapped around her in a show of support.
No, I am not crying 🥲 https://t.co/Zup4IlwE9d
Victoria Azarenka will face Belinda Bencic in the second round of the Qatar Open.
Bencic defeated Viktoriya Tomova in the first round 6-0, 6-1 to book her spot against Azarenka. She is currently attempting to win her third championship of the year and her second consecutive title after emerging victorious at the Abu Dhabi Open last week.
The head-to-head between the two stands at 2-0 with Azarenka leading.