Tennis: Victoria Azarenka of Belarus defeats Russia's Maria Kirilenko to take bronze

August 4, 2012: Silver medalist Maria Sharapova (right) of Russia, gold medalist Serena Williams (centre) of the United States and bronze medalist Victoria Azarenka (left) of Belarus receive their medals at Wimbledon (GETTY IMAGES)

World number one Victoria Azarenka bounced back from her semi-final thrashing to claim bronze in the Olympic tennis women's singles at Wimbledon today, defeating Russia's Maria Kirilenko 6-3 6-4 in an hour and a half.

The Belarussian, who won just three games in her Friday defeat by America's Serena Williams, took an early lead against Kirilenko on a blustery Court One.

Kirilenko made her opponent work, fighting back to level the score more than once but she was ultimately overpowered by Azarenka, who fell to her knees as the Russian netted the ball to hand her the victory.

Fellow Russian Maria Sharapova lost to Williams in the gold medal match.

Reuters