Victoria Azarenka lifted her second BNP Paribas Open crown and her 19th singles title after soundly defeating top seed Serena Williams 6-4, 6-4 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on Sunday.
Williams was broken at love in the opening game and trailed her rival from then on in their 21st meeting on the WTA Tour. The two-time BNP Paribas Open champion (’99, d. Graf; ’01, d. Clijsters) failed to convert her five break chances against the Belarusian Azarenka – in the sixth and eighth games – to concede the first set in 41 minutes.
Azarenka’s tremendous defense and powerful baseline arsenal continued to chip away at Williams, who did not get on the scoreboard in the second set until a service hold for 1-4.
Williams roared back in the eighth game to break Azarenka, but it was too late for the 21-time Grand Slam champion. Azarenka swatted away two of Williams’ break point opportunities, saving 11 of 12 break points overall. She clinched victory in 88 minutes, after her opponent’s groundstroke sailed long.
“You truly inspired so many people out there,” said Azarenka to Williams in the on-court trophy presentation. “Thank you for that from the bottom of my heart. You’ve changed our game.”
Along with the prestigious Baccarat trophy, Azarenka receives $1,028,300 in prize money and 1000 WTA ranking points. For her effort, Williams receives a runner-up trophy, $501,815 in prize money, and and 650 ranking points.
“The last moment I had here wasn’t so great,” Williams told the crowd. “Thank you so much. The cheers… I can’t begin to tell you how much it means to me.”
The 13th-seeded Azarenka improved to 4-17 against the World No. 1, recording her first victory against Williams since the 2013 Cincinnati final.
This is Azarenka’s second title at Indian Wells (also 2012, d. Sharapova) and her second trophy of the season, after claiming the Brisbane title (d. Kerber) to open her season.