won in 2008. Ultimately, Azarenka won the match, beating Sharapova in straight sets in one hour and twenty-two minutes and in doing so claimed the world No. 1 ranking for the first time. Azarenka would defeat Sharapova in two further finals, at Indian Wells, in Beijing however Sharapova would prevail in the final of the 2012 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. Their two non-finals were split, Azarenka winning at the US Open and Sharapova winning at the year-end championships. The pair's only meeting in 2013 did not come until the semifinals of the French Open, where Sharapova won in three sets. This marked the first time Sharapova had beaten Azarenka at a Grand Slam, and improved to 3–0 against her on clay. Sharapova won their next meeting in the third round of the 2015 BNP Paribas Open in straight sets. Azarenka vs. Li List of all matches Azarenka and Li Na met eleven times between 2008 and 2013. Azarenka led the head-to-head 6–5 overall, and 2–1 in championship matches (all of which reached a deciding set), but trailed 1–2 in Grand Slam matches. Their first meeting was in the final of the 2008 Mondial Australian Women's Hardcourts tournament (which has since been renamed as the Brisbane International), which Li Na won in three sets after Azarenka had won the first. Azarenka's first victory over Li was in the third round of the 2010 Rogers Cup. They met three times in 2011, two of which were at the Majors, with Li winning both times, before Azarenka won their third meeting at the 2011 WTA Tour Championships, en route to reaching the final. They met a further three times in 2012, with Azarenka winning each time. They met in the final of the Sydney International, where Azarenka won in three sets after breaking the defending champion Li at 4–3 in the decider. Azarenka was also victorious in their meetings at Madrid and the year-end championships. Their most notable meeting to date was in the final of the 2013 Australian Open. Both players entered the championship match with one Grand Slam title each (Azarenka who the 2012 Australian Open, whilst Li won the 2011 French Open), and in very good form, with Azarenka only dropping one set throughout her run and Li Na having not dropped a set and also having defeated two top four players (Agnieszka Radwańska and Maria Sharapova) en route. After