Azarenka battles through migraine to reach US Open third round

Victoria Azarenka said she suffered a migraine during her match against Clara Burel at the U.S. Open on Wednesday but the former world number one still managed to claim a 6-1, 6-4 victory to move into the third round.

Azarenka was in cruise control as she comfortably took the opening set after winning the first five games but she quickly found herself 3-1 down in the second, appearing to struggle with the harsh lights at Louis Armstrong Stadium.

The Belarusian was in tears as she complained of a migraine and then called for the doctor, who checked her blood pressure and gave her medication during a stoppage that lasted nearly five minutes.

That took the momentum away from Burel, who made several errors after the restart as Azarenka won the next four games before sealing victory.

The 20th seed barely celebrated the win and went back to her seat to drape a towel around her head before putting on a pair of sunglasses.

“I don’t know how I played the match. I just tried to, you know, hope that it’s going to get better a little bit,” Azarenka said in her post-match interview.

“I’m wearing glasses for a reason right now. It looks probably weird and awkward on TV. But I have a chronic migraine sometimes and it couldn’t be a worse time to start it, on the match.

READ | Azarenka battles through migraine under harsh lights to reach third round

“It’s just tough to deal with.”

The twice Australian Open champion will next face China’s Wang Yafan.