Australian Open 2014: I’d nothing to lose, says semi-finalist Radwanska

Agnieskzka Radwanska admitted she is playing “great tennis” after the Pole beat defending champion Victoria Azarenka to reach her first Australian Open semi-final.

The fifth seed sealed a 6-1 5-7 6-0 victory over the Belarusian in two hours on Wednesday, hitting 23 winners in an impressive performance on Rod Laver.

I’m just very happy because I was really playing great tennis

Agnieskzka Radwanska

And Radwanska, who will face Dominika Cibulková in the last four, was thrilled to get through the quarter-final and overcome the mental barriers, having suffered four successive losses to Azarenka.

“It’s hard to play someone I’ve lost to so many times before – and she’s a great player, especially here, she’s playing amazing tennis,” Radwanska said.

“On the other hand, I really had nothing to lose. She was defending the title, not me. I just tried to play my best tennis and go for every shot I could.

“I’m just very happy because I was really playing great tennis.”

Radwanska raced into a 5-0 lead in the first set before Azarenka finally got on the scoreboard, with the Pole winning the opener 6-1.

The No5 seed threatened to lose her grip on the last-eight match-up when Azarenka edged to the second 7-5, but Radwanska broke in the first game of the final set and went on to win the decider to love.

“I’ll be fine tomorrow,” Azarenka said. “I’ll be working tomorrow. It’s not the end of the world. I’m not happy with what I did today, but I know I could have played a lot better. There’s so much to improve.

“I can look at it like a lost opportunity, but there’s nothing else I can do right now. What I have to think about is what I have to do better next time. It’s just the beginning. If I thought I wasn’t able to do much better than today, it’s better to just stop playing tennis. But I know I can do a lot better.

“I can’t take away what she did today though – she played amazing.”