Event: Mutua Madrid Open
Venue: Manzanares Park Tennis Center (aka Caja Magica)
Location: Madrid, Spain

BEFORE: Victoria Azarenka beat the stuffing out of Angelique Kerber in Brisbane back in January but couldn't deliver the goods when it really mattered - at the Australian Open Grand Slam event - so she arrives in Madrid looking for another crushing victory that would confirm her status as the hottest player in the game this season. Even Serena Williams has to take notice of the Belarussian's best run of results since mid-2013.

Meanwhile Laura Robson is still on the road to recovery, the British left-hander hasn't featured in the competition for the best part of the last three years due to a lingering wrist injury and her comeback earlier this season has been anything but impressive. Even outside of the tennis court, she was still blasted out by both Laci Kay Somers and Natalie Eva Marie under BBU rules so a fight against an in-form opponent who won Indian Wells & Miami Premier Mandatory events back-to-back (as only the third woman in history. the others being Hall of Famers Steffi Graf & Kim Clijsters) seems like an insurmountable challenge. But the underdogs have beaten the odds-on favorites before and clay isn't really Azarenka's favorite surface. Someone will eat some dirt here tonight and the entire Madrid crowd supports the ranked outsider which keeps Robson smiling during the introductions.

Victoria Azarenka wears a light green bikini top, white knickers and black gloves. Blonde hair tied in a trademark braid. Laura Robson wears a dark blue bikini set with white trim and red gloves. Dark brown hair tied in a long ponytail. The fight is scheduled for ten rounds in the welterweight division.

Round 1:
Laura's smile is gone within seconds as Vika ignites her trademark high-octane offense which works extremely well against an opponent short of confidence and results lately. The powerful Belarussian drive splits the brunette's mitts repeatedly and allthough Rosbon tries to stay in the exchange to indicate she won't simply roll over for her opponent, she's finding Azarenka's attack too vicious to embrace down the stretch and has to seek a mid-distance respite. The problem is, Victoria's just glued to her face with methodical approach and shows no signs of breaking down the leather rush. She traps the struggling Brit in the corner come the final minute and delivers a gut-checking combo to underline her landslide dominance.

Round 2:
Robson tries to make something happen from the inside but after blasting the blonde on the cheeks with a couple of solid jabs, she soaks up immediate response and reels backwards under the Belarussian power. Azarenka leans on the front leg and works the hooking magic keeping her opponent at bay and pounding her back into another trap along the ropes after the minute mark. Robson ducks & weaves on her feet but finds it impossible to stay away from Vika's jabbing drill. She bellows out behind a desperate earmuff in the final minute and sinks on her knees when Azarenka rains punches all over her body thereafter.

Round 3:
Laura lands the single punches to at least keep Victoria honest in the opening minute but the older girl eyes a swift progress into KO reality now; she holds back briefly letting the brunette to produce some hooking routes that mainly bounce off the guard - before rocking the 22 year old with a brutal cross on the nose and adding a stiffing punch on the liver area. Robson bends into aching spasms with her eyes closed but fortunately manages to lock a life-saving clinch as Azarenka bulldozes her into the turnbuckle and punishes the midsection thereafter. Laura remains saddled on her heels and fails to punch back from the corner which earns her more midriff pain, only an accidental clash of heads enables the Brit to escape a total disaster but Victoria looks quite ready to blow her away regardless.

Round 4:
Even Robson's southpaw attire doesn't give her any comfort against an opponent thriving on confidence, Victoria tracks her down with ease and keeps swinging the hooking approach until she tags the temples and wobbles the Brit on her heels again. A quick switch on the body stacks Laura up before a drilling uppercut finds the jaw and prevents her from locking another clinch. She wobbles on the ropes and gets nailed with a left cross on the nose followed by another flying hook on the left ear... AND THAT PUNCH CHOPS HER DOWN on the spot with Vika screaming out in delight and waving her glove above her head... Robson takes her time to shake off the knockdown misery but eventually gets up at eight... she immediately tries to backpedal from more Belarussian heat and Azarenka's well aware she's rattled the brunette's cage here so doesn't apply so much pressure for remainder of the round looking more than satisfied with Laura's spooked demeanour.

Round 5:
Azarenka resumes the leather pouncing but struggles for execution early in the fifth as Robson is hell bent to stay away in mid range which allows her to avoid the looming disaster. However she can only make the defensive mode work as long as Vika doesn't land the first meaningful punch of the round and the aerial swings are too frequent not to cash in before long... Vika's confident power rush makes the all important difference and she eventually hooks up with Robson's face again, rendering her into another earmuff struggle. No way back for the British lass here, she soaks up too much heat and sinks on the ropes with the blonde mercilessly pounding her to the body to literally make her cry out her submission at the bell. Laura's hurt to the gut and hugs her tummy while walking slowly to her corner and Azarenka only nods back to the Madrid crowd expecting imminient success now.

Round 6:
Robson's too slow on her feet to escape another crosshing route and when Azarenka dissects her high guard to tear her skin under the left eye, the British girl gives up the ghost and wobbles into a crunching uppercut that snaps her ponytail for a ride and shuts her eyes closed... she trembles into another hook on the liver area before Vika slams a piercing hook on the nose TO SEND ROBSON CRASHING DOWN FLAT ON HER BACK... Ugh! That might just be curtains for all the UK hopes here but Laura'a determined to salvage the last ounce of pride here... despite looking shaken & very much stirred she scampers back on her feet at nine only to wobble back against the ropes and slump into that terrible gut feeling that there is nothing she can do to stop the blonde from routing her anymore. Thankfully the referee sees it the same way too and stops the fight before Laura gets seriously hurt. TKO6 Victoria Azarenka!!!

AFTER: With the French Open just around the corner, Victoria looks in supreme position to finally reclaim the Grand Slam glory that has deserted her over the past couple of years. Serena Williams is always a threat but not exactly the biggest clay expert in the world and Maria Sharapova's future remains unknown following her meldonium hiccup. Can Azarenka finally become the leader of her generation again like she did back in 2012/13? Most pundits in Madrid think that's indeed the case!

Meanwhile it's just good to see Laura back in action after such devastating injury problems that seemed to prematurely end her career. She's a long way off from becoming an elite player - and concerns are she will never fulfill her potential - but she's got the fighting spirit in her and if she stays injury free, she might well grace the Top 30 in the rankings again. Even the rise of Johanna Konta and steady presence of Heather Watson doesn't make people forget that Laura was the original British #1 prospect when she won junior Wimbledon aged 14 and became WTA Newcomer of the Year in addition to her Olympic doubles silver medal four years later.

Final result: Victoria Azarenka def. Laura Robson TKO6.