Victoria Azarenka beats Samantha Stosur to win in Qatar
- Published
World number one Victoria Azarenka strolled to the Qatar Open title with a 6-1 6-2 win over Samantha Stosur.
The Australian Open champion from Belarus showed no ill effects after twisting her right ankle in the semi-final against Agnieszka Radwanska.
Azarenka broke US Open champion Stosur twice to lead 4-1 in the first set and won the first three games of the second on the way to her 17th straight win.
"I am really proud of the way I played," said an emotional Azarenka.
"I was not 100% after my fall yesterday and I knew I had to adjust my game and everything went according to plan."
The Qatar Open was Azarenka's career 11th title, 10 of them coming on hard courts.
It also completed a remarkable 12 months for Azarenka, who lost to Daniela Hantuchova in the first round in Doha in 2011, a defeat that led her to contemplate retirement before being talked out of it by her mother and grandmother.
"Last year I lost in the first round and watched someone else lift this beautiful trophy," she added. "But now I have this for myself."
Stosur lost for the eighth time in 14 WTA finals but had the consolation of becoming the first Australian to surpass US$10 million in career prize money.
"For sure I'm happy with the week I've had," she said. "It's been great to turn my form around so quickly after a disappointing month first up, so I'm really pleased I've been able to pick it up and make it to the final."