in three sets. Her next tournament was the Bank of the West Classic, where she was the defending champion and top seed. Azarenka was ousted by 124th-ranked Marina Erakovic from New Zealand in the second round. Despite her 'horrible match' in singles, Azarenka claimed the doubles title with partner Kirilenko. The next tournament Azarenka played was the Rogers Cup, where she was seeded fourth. After a bye, Azarenka beat Stéphanie Dubois, María José Martínez Sánchez, and Galina Voskoboeva, before being stopped by Serena Williams in the semifinals. Azarenka reached the doubles final with Kirilenko, but the team withdrew citing a hand injury to Azarenka. Azarenka pulled out of the Western & Southern Open with the same injury. Azarenka's next tournament was the US Open, where she was seeded fourth. She made it to the third round, where she was defeated by 28th seed and eventual runner-up Serena Williams. Despite the early loss, she reached a new career high of No. 3 in the world. Azarenka reached the semifinals of the Pan Pacific Open, losing to eventual champion Agnieszka Radwańska. In doing so she qualified for the year-end championships in Istanbul. The Belarusian participated in the China Open, the last of the four mandatory events for 2011, as the second seed. She defeated Polona Hercog in the second round, after receiving a first-round bye. She then withdrew from the tournament, citing a right foot strain. Azarenka would win her third title of the year at the Luxembourg Open, defeating Monica Niculescu in the final. Azarenka was placed in the White Group at the Tour Championships. She beat Samantha Stosur and Li Na in her first two Round Robin matches. She secured the move to the semifinals despite her loss in three sets to Marion Bartoli, a substitute for Maria Sharapova. She then beat Vera Zvonareva to move to the final where she lost to Petra Kvitová in three sets. 2012: First Major title, two Olympic medals and world No. 1 Azarenka claimed her first title of the season at the Apia International Sydney as the third seed. She defeated her first three opponents, Stefanie Vögele, Jelena Janković and Marion Bartoli all in straight sets to advance to the semifinals where she defeated the seventh seed, Agnieszka Radwańska in three sets to reach the final. She went on to win against the defending champion Li Na in three sets. Azarenka competed at