Victoria Azarenka defeats Svetlana Kuznetsova for Miami Open title

Victoria Azarenka completed a rare Indian Wells-Key Biscayne double Saturday by beating Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6-3, 6-2, to win the Miami Open.

Azarenka, a two-time Grand Slam champion mounting a comeback from injuries, defeated Serena Williams in the Indian Wells final two weeks ago. She’s only the third woman to win both tournaments in the same year, and the first since Kim Clijsters in 2005. Steffi Graf did it in 1994 and 1996.

Seeded 13th, Azarenka swept every set in her six matches to earn her third Key Biscayne title and her first since 2011. A former No. 1 player, she fell out of the top 30 in 2014 because of foot and thigh injuries, but will be back in the top five next week.

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Azarenka improved to 22-1 this year.

Novak Djokovic tries for a record-tying sixth Key Biscayne title when he plays Kei Nishikori on Sunday.

The No. 15-seeded Kuznetsova beat eight-time champion Williams in the fourth round, but that match was one of four consecutive three-setters for the Russian, and she appeared weary in the final.

Both players were inconsistent with their strokes, and there was a break of serve in eight of the first nine games. Azarenka became so annoyed she kicked one stray ball over the net and whacked another into the 10th row, with the latter transgression earning her a code violation.

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But she managed the lone hold in the opening set, and her play then became steadier. That left Kuznetsova doing most of the running on a sunny, 88-degree afternoon. Her fatigue showed in the final game, when she staggered under an overhead and netted it.

Kuznetsova held serve only twice. She hit just eight winners compared to 23 for Azarenka.

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