Belarusian Azarenka defeats Ukrainian Kostyuk to qualify for the 3rd round

Belarusian Victoria Azarenka (26th in the world) qualified for the third round of the US Open by easily beating 6-2, 6-2 Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk (65th) on Thursday, a meeting which promised to be tense in the context of the war in Ukraine, but which passed without incident.

The only sign of a possible tension appeared when, instead of shaking hands, the two players, without a real regard for each other, knocked their rackets together – a gesture introduced during the Covid period -, at the end of the game, during which a Ukrainian flag was very briefly unfurled in the stands. The former world No.1, triple finalist of the New York Major, will be opposed in the next round to the Spaniard Paula Badosa (4th) or the Croatian Petra Martic (54th). Azarenka, double winner of the Australian Open (2012, 2013), was much more solid and regular in the exchanges than her rival, aggressive but far too faulty (29 unforced errors against 14) to hope for another result.

The Azarenka-Kostyuk confrontation took place in a very tense context between Ukrainian players on one side, Russians and Belarusians on the other, for the six months that the conflict has lasted. Belarus is a close ally of Russia and has allowed Moscow to use its territory to launch attacks in Ukraine. Reason why many Ukrainian players, including Kostyuk, want Russians and Belarusians to be banned from competition. This decision, only the organizers of the Wimbledon tournament took it, this summer, unlike the other Majors and tournaments of the ATP and WTA circuits which authorize Daniil Medvedev, Aryna Sabalenka and consort to play, but without mention of their country and without flag .

Last weekend, Azarenka was dropped from an exhibition tournament held on the eve of the US Open to raise funds for Ukraine. Kostyuk in particular protested against his presence at this charity event, causing the organizers to backpedal.