Azarenka Celebrates a Victory and a Birthday at Stanford

Eighth seeded Victoria Azarenka claimed the Bank of the West Classic on Sunday in Palo Atlo, CA in impressive fashion.  The fact that she also celebrated her 21st birthday over the weekend made it the perfect weekend for a player looking to make her way to, and stay in the top-10.

Azarenka lost only one set in the tournament in defeating Marion Bartoli, Sam Stosur, and Maria Sharapova.  The Belarusian says she is heading in the right direction and is looking forward to more success on the hardcourts.

In the past ,Azarenka has struggled with the mental part of the game and had problems with her nerves while trying to close out matches. 

Sharapova was disappointed by her play in the finals, but was happy to get that far.  She still shows some signs of rust, but with more matches she should be fine by Flushing Meadows. 

Azarenka takes the early lead in the Olympus U.S. Open Series with the win and her ranking is now up to #12.

In an entertaining doubles final: Lindsay Davenport and Lisa Huber defeated Yung-Jan Chan and Jie Zheng 7-5, 6-7 (8) and 10-8 in a tiebreaker.  It's great to see Lindsay still out there even if it's just for doubles.