Azarenka aiming to complete rare double in Miami

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  • Hot streak: Azarenka.

    Former world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka is on the verge of pulling off a rare ‘Sunshine Double’ as she attempts to follow up her Indian Wells title triumph with victory in the Miami Open final on Saturday.

    The Belarusian two-time Australian Open champion will take on Svetlana Kuznetsova for a chance to become just the third woman to win titles in Indian Wells and Miami in the same year, a feat only accomplished by Steffi Graf (1994, 1996) and Kim Clijsters (2005).

    Both Azarenka and Kuznetsova are previous champions in Miami with the former grabbing the trophy in 2009 and 2011 and the latter experiencing success in 2006.

    Azarenka, who is looking to win the same title on three separate occasions for the first time in her career, has amassed an incredible 21-1 win-loss record in 2016 so far, with her only defeat coming to Angelique Kerber in the Australian Open quarter-finals in January.

    She avenged that loss to Kerber in the Miami semi-finals late on Thursday, overcoming the reigning Australian Open champion 6-2, 7-5 in an exhilarating battle.

    Having plummeted in the rankings due to injury, Azarenka is finally back in the top-five for the first time since May 2014 thanks to her bullish performances over the past three months that saw her capture titles in Brisbane and Indian Wells.

    Standing between her and the elusive ‘Sunshine Double’ is Russian veteran Kuznetsova – a two-time major champion herself – who is back in the Miami finals 10 years after she won it as a 20-year-old.

    Kuznetsova, seeded No15, upset Serena Williams in the fourth round earlier this week and made the final by defeated Timea Bacsinszky 7-5, 6-3.

    “She’s a very talented and diverse player. She is one of the players who knows how to handle big stages. I know she has her up and downs in her career, but she knows how to handle big stages. She is a two-time grand slam champion, so it speaks a lot,” said Azarenka of Kuznetsova.

    “Seeing her coming book into her form, I know she’s always been a dangerous player, so for me it’s going to be really fun challenge to see also where we both are in a different timing of our career since we last played. It’s going to be really fun. It’s tough, but the final can be unpredictable and is the type of the match where you give it all.”

    Azarenka, who beat Williams in the Indian Wells final last week, is searching for a 20th career title on Saturday.

    Asked if she feels like she is the best player in the world at the moment, the 26-year-old said: “I wouldn’t go out there and kill myself every day if I didn’t feel like that.”

    On the possibility of pulling off the Indian Wells-Miami double, Azarenka added: “I don’t think about too much ahead what it’s going to mean because those are just stats. For me, I have a job to do on Sunday.

    “Regardless if I’m going to win and it’s going to make a history, first I need to focus on now recovering for this match. It’s been a lot of tennis for me this past month, but I’m ready. I’m prepared… I’m going out there hungry.”

    Should Kuznetsova win the title, she will re-enter the top-10 for the first time since May 2010.

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