Sharapova pays tribute to Azarenka after losing out on the Indian Wells title

Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova praised her counterpart Victoria Azarenka after her 6-2, 6-3 defeat in the final of Indian Wells WTA tournament on Sunday.

«She’s going through a period in her career where she’s extremely confident, extremely solid. Nothing is really going wrong for her,» said world Number 2, quoted by Eurosport.

«Everything is a positive. When you’re against her, you’re playing against a good player and you have to figure out how to beat them. It hasn’t happened for me the last couple of times against her. There is no doubt she’s the most dominant as far as this year goes ... just by the level of tennis and how she’s been able to keep it as well,» the 24-year-old warned.

«It’s also another thing to maintain that level. We’ve got many more tournaments to go. Ultimately that is set at the end of the year and you kind of see who was where and who did how.»