INDIAN WELLS '12: Vika Wins 4th Title; Now 23-0!

AFP Photo/ ROBYN BECK

Victoria Azarenka continued her amazing, undefeated 2012 season by winning her 23rd consecutive match, defeating Maria Sharapova 6-2 6-3 and claim her 4th consecutive WTA tournament title of the year, the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, CA.

It was the first time since 2008 that the two players at the top of the WTA Tour met in a tour final, but Azarenka again showed her mastery of Sharapova's game, using controlled aggression and superior movement to highlight the Russian's weaknesses. The Belarussian has now beaten the Russian in the three WTA tour finals they have played, and leads their career head-to-head 5-3.

Azarenka looked very comfortable throughout the match, with Pam Shriver astute commentators noting that she was dressed like she was at practice (in capri pants, shorts and her contractual Nike gear.

It will be interesting to see how far Azarenka can go to match Novak Djokovic's 42-match winning streak of 2011. On the women's side, Martina Hingis and Martina Navratilova have the next longest streak of 37 match wins to start the year.