NEW YORK — Victoria Azarenka stated she suffered a migraine throughout her match in opposition to Clara Burel on the US Open on Wednesday, however the former world No. 1 nonetheless managed to assert a 6-1, 6-4 victory to maneuver into the third spherical.
Azarenka was in cruise management as she comfortably took the opening set after profitable the primary 5 video games however rapidly discovered herself 3-1 down within the second, showing to wrestle with the tough lights at Louis Armstrong Stadium.
The Belarusian was in tears as she complained of a migraine after which known as for the physician, who checked her blood strain and gave her remedy throughout a stoppage that lasted practically 5 minutes.
That took the momentum away from Burel, who made a number of errors after the restart as Azarenka gained the subsequent 4 video games earlier than sealing victory.
The twentieth seed barely celebrated the win and went again to her seat to drape a towel round her head earlier than placing on a pair of sun shades.
“I do not understand how I performed the match. I simply tried to, you understand, hope that it should get higher a little bit bit,” Azarenka stated in her postmatch interview. “I am carrying glasses for a cause proper now. It seems most likely bizarre and awkward on TV. However I’ve a persistent migraine generally and it could not be a worse time to begin it, on the match.
“It is simply robust to take care of.”
The 2-time Australian Open champion will subsequent face China’s Wang Yafan.
Reuters contributed to this report.
