Victoria Azarenka came from a set down to beat Agnieszka Radwanska in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.
Third seed comes from a set down to beat Radwanska
Victoria Azarenka came from a set down to beat Agnieszka Radwanska in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.
The third seed overcame a shocking first-set tie-break, which she lost to love, to post a 6-7 (0-7) 6-0 6-2 victory on Rod Laver Arena.
It was the sixth time in 10 meetings the pair had gone the distance and Azarenka, who will now meet defending champion Kim Clijsters in the last four, said: "We just cannot play two sets, we have to push each other to the limit.
"We played some great tennis and I am really glad I could stay tough and see it out at the end.
"I am a year older and wiser, so I take it step by step, play every point and give the best I can and the result will be the result."
Radwanska was the more consistent player early but both struggled to hold serve in the opening exchanges.
Mocked
Azarenka, again mocked by the crowd for her grunting, served for the opening set at 6-5 only to miss her chance and she was made to pay by her Polish foe.
The Belarusian was all over the place from the baseline in the breaker but she soon set about repairing the damage.
Azarenka reeled off seven straight games to move ahead in the decider.
She broke from 3-1 in the final set and after that there was no looking back.
As for the crowd, Azarenka was in forgiving mood, adding: "The crowd don't distract me at all, thank you for being here, it means a lot."
Having improved considerably in recent times - she reached her first Grand Slam semi-final at Wimbledon last year and is now in another - Azarenka feels a change of mental attitude is responsible.
"Maybe two years ago I would be like 'OK, it's not working today. I'm going to try, but we'll see how it goes.
"Today I really tried to forget about the first set and start from zero and really, you know, fight hard, really take it one at a time and keep going. So I think that was a different mental approach a little bit."
