OLYMPICS MEANS MORE

Victoria Azarenka has said that winning a medal in the Olympics is more important to her than being the no. 1 player in the world.

Azarenka had won the Gold medal in the mixed doubles competition of London Olympics. Her partner in that event was Max Mirnyi. The Belarusian pair had defeated the British pair of Laura Robson and Andy Murray by 2-6, 6-3, 10-8.

That was not the only medal won by Azarenka in London Olympics. She had won the Bronze medal in the singles competition as well.

When asked what is more important to her- being at the top of the world rankings or winning an Olympic medal, Azarenka said, “Off course, it’s the Olympic medal. The value of an Olympic medal is immense. It can’t be compared to anything else, not even the no. 1 ranking in the world.”

“In the Olympics, you play for your country and that’s the biggest thing for a sportsperson. Winning something for nation is what all sportspersons dream about.”

“When I was a child, I also used to dream about winning an Olympic medal and finally, when I got one last year, I got emotional. It was really the happiest moment that I have ever had in my career.”

“The no. 1 ranking in the world is only an indication of how you are playing at the moment. If you win matches consistently, you will get there. Similarly, if you have bad run in some tournaments, you will go down. So, it’s something which is always changing.”

Azarenka’s current world ranking is 3. She has had tremendous time this year. She is yet to suffer a defeat this season.

Azarenka has been out of action since the last few weeks because of her ankle injury. But, she is expected to be back for the upcoming clay court tournament in Stuttgart.

AZARENKA PULLS OUT

The no. 3 player in the world, Victoria Azarenka, has withdrawn her name from the ongoing Sony Open because of her ankle injury.

The Belarusian had to play her first match in the tournament on Friday, but, before the match, she announced her withdrawal from the tournament.

Announcing her withdrawal, Azarenka said, “The condition of my ankle has not improved at all. I am still having problems in moving. I went to practice yesterday, but, I didn’t feel comfortable at all while practicing. So, I have decided that I will not take part in this tournament.”

“It’s really frustrating to miss tournaments when you are in good form. I was eager to play in this tournament.”

Azarenka had discovered this ankle injury while playing against Urszula Radwanska of Poland in the fourth round of BNP Paribas Open. The Belarusian managed to win that match in straight sets despite being in a lot of pain.

Azarenka had to play against Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark in the next match, but, she decided not to take part in that match as her injury had worsened.

At the start of this week, Azarenka had said that she would recover before the Sony Open, but, unfortunately, that didn’t happen.

Azarenka has had a fabulous run in this season so far. She hasn’t been beaten yet in the season. She has played a total of 17 matches and has won all of them.

She has won a couple of titles i.e. Australian Open and Doha Open.

However, despite performing so well in this season, Azarenka has slipped down in the world rankings. She had begun the season as the no. 1 player in the world, but, now, she is at the third position in the world rankings.

AZARENKA THROUGH THIRD ROUND

Victoria Azarenka has defeated Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open. Azarenka won the match by 3-6, 6-3, 6-0.

Azarenka struggled a bit in the first set, but, in the next two sets, she showed why she is considered as a great player. Azarenka who has been given the top seed in this tournament will play against Urszula Radwanska of Poland in the next round. Read more »

AZARENKA WINS

Victoria Azarenka has defeated Elena Vesnina of Russia in the fourth round of the Australian Open. Azarenka won the match in the straight sets by 6-1, 6-1. With this victory, Azarenka has moved into the quarter finals. It was a brilliant effort by the world no. 1. She won the match in just 57 minutes and knocked Vesnina out of the tournament.

Azarenka has been in fine form in this tournament and she was expected to secure an easy victory over Vesnina. The speculations turned out to be true and Azarenka didn’t have to work hard at all to defeat Vesnina. She dominated right through the match. Read more »

AZARENKA DEFEATS PERVAK

Victoria Azarenka has defeated Ksenia Pervak of Kazakhstan in a match of the Brisbane International Tennis tournament. Azarenka won the match in the straight sets by 6-1, 6-0. With this victory, Azarenka has made her way into the semi finals.

Azarenka was expected to dominate in the match as she was much higher in rankings than Pervak and she stood up to the expectations. The Belarusian superstar took just 69 minutes to win the match and knock her opponent out of the competition. She was in absolute demolishing mood and she made the match completely one sided.

Azarenka had won its previous match quite easily as well. She had started the new year on a high by defeating Sabine Lisicki of Germany in the straight sets by 6-3, 6-3. But, in the match against Pervak, the world no. 1 looked even more aggressive. She let her opponent win just a single game in the entire match which tells the story of her dominance.

Azarenka was off to a brilliant start in the match. She got three successive breakthroughs and won the first five games on the trot to take a lead of 5-0. Pervak eventually made her presence felt by breaking Azarenka’s service in the sixth game, but, that was too little to make an impact. Azarenka easily served out with the seventh game and sealed the first set by 6-1.

In the second set, Azarenka got even more aggressive. Just like the opening set, the Belarusian broke Pervak’s service thrice in the second set as well and won the first six games consecutively to wrap up the match.

Azarenka served four double faults in the match, but, she made up for it by converting seven out of the nine breakpoints that she got. In the semi final, Azarenka will take on the winner of the match between Sloane Stephens and Serena Williams.

BRISBANE FIRST IN 2013

The no.1 player in the world, Victoria Azarenka, will take part in the Brisbane International tennis competition in the next season. Azarenka had participated in this tournament a couple of times before as well. This would be the only tournament that Azarenka would play before the Australian Open.

Talking to the reporters after signing for the Brisbane International, Azarenka said, “I have played in this competition a few times before and I had thoroughly enjoyed my stay here on those occasions. Brisbane is a wonderful City and the people over here are very nice as well. I am pretty excited to come back here again next year.”

“I had won this tournament in 2009 and I am looking forward to do it again in January. I know that it’s not going to be that easy as there will be some great players participating in the competition, but, I will give my best and hopefully, will manage to win it.”

When asked about her finishing the season as the no.1 player in the world, Azarenka said, “I am delighted to have finished the season at the top of the rankings. It’s a very special achievement for me. I performed consistently throughout the season and got the reward for that. I would have liked to finish the season by winning a title, but, overall, I am pretty happy with how the season went for me.”

“I am looking forward to the next season. It will be an exciting one; that’s for sure. There will certainly be some very tough matches for me in the upcoming season, but, I am quite prepared for it. I will start the season by playing in this tournament and then, will participate in the Australian Open and hopefully, will defend my title there.”