Victoria Azarenka

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Victoria Azarenka
Вікторыя Азаранка
Виктория Азаренко
Country  Belarus
Residence Scottsdale, Arizona[1]
Born 31 July 1989 (1989-07-31) (age 22)
Minsk, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union
now Belarus
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Turned pro 2003
Plays Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money $7,748,282
Singles
Career record 267–119 (69%)
Career titles 7 WTA, 1 ITF
Highest ranking No. 3 (12 September 2011)
Current ranking No. 3 (12 September 2011)
Grand Slam results
Australian Open QF (2010)
French Open QF (2009, 2011)
Wimbledon SF (2011)
US Open 4R (2007)
Other tournaments
Championships RR (2009, 2010)
Doubles
Career record 131–49
Career titles 6 WTA, 3 ITF
Highest ranking No. 7 (7 July 2008)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open F (2008, 2011)
French Open F (2009)
Wimbledon QF (2008)
US Open 2R (2009)
Mixed Doubles
Career titles 2
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
Australian Open F (2007)
French Open W (2008)
Wimbledon 1R (2007)
US Open W (2007)
Last updated on: 12 September 2011.

Viktoriya Fiodorovna Azarenka, also known as Victoria Azarenka (Belarusian: Вікторыя Азаранка, Russian: Виктория Фёдоровна Азаренко; born 31 July 1989) is a Belarusian professional tennis player. Her career high and current ranking is World No. 3, which she first achieved on 12 September 2011. She became the highest-ranked Belarusian player ever, surpassing Natasha Zvereva by two spots.[2]

Azarenka has won two mixed doubles Grand Slam titles – 2007 US Open with Max Mirnyi and 2008 French Open with Bob Bryan. She has won seven singles titles, including the Premier Mandatory Sony Ericsson Open in 2009 and 2011 and has made one Grand Slam semifinal appearance at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships and another five quarterfinal appearances overall.

Contents

[edit] Personal

Her move to Scottsdale from Minsk, Belarus was aided by National Hockey League goalie Nikolai Khabibulin and his wife, who is a friend of Azarenka's mother.[3]

[edit] Tennis career

[edit] 2005

In 2005, Azarenka won the Australian Open and US Open as a junior and was named the ITF Junior Girls World Champion for that year, the first player from Belarus to do that. She also won her first ITF title in Pétange, Luxembourg in the same year. In Guangzhou, China, she reached her first pro-level semi-final, winning three qualifying rounds and defeating Martina Suchá and Shuai Peng in the main draw before losing to eventual champion Yan Zi.

[edit] 2006

In 2006, at the event in Memphis, Azarenka defeated her first top-20 player, Nicole Vaidišová, and two months later defeated her second top-30 player in Jelena Janković at Miami. On clay, Azarenka pushed 2004 French Open champion Anastasia Myskina to 7–6 in the third in Rome, and took clay-court specialist Anabel Medina Garrigues to 9–7 in the third set in the first round at Roland Garros. At the 2006 US Open, she had her first win over Myskina in the first round and lost to Anna Chakvetadze in the third round, her best result in a grand slam event to that date. In her next tournament, Azarenka reached her second pro-level semi-final in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, losing to Tiantian Sun. She finished the year reaching the final of an ITF event in Pittsburgh, losing to Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak.[4]

[edit] 2007

Ranked World Number 96, Azarenka began the year by playing two tournaments in Australia. She lost in the second round at the Moorilla Hobart International to Serena Williams. At the Australian Open, Azarenka reached the third round of a Grand Slam singles tournament for the second consecutive time, where she lost to World Number 11 Jelena Janković in straight sets.

She was upset in the first round of the French Open by Karin Knapp of Italy, and at Wimbledon, she lost in the third round to 14th-seeded Nicole Vaidišová.

At the US Open, Azarenka upset former World Number 1 Martina Hingis in the third round before 2004 US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova beat her in the fourth round. In mixed doubles, Azarenka and countryman Max Mirnyi won the title, defeating Meghann Shaughnessy and Leander Paes.[5]

She ended her year at the Tier I Kremlin Cup in Moscow where she upset World Number 4 Maria Sharapova in the second round.[6] She then lost to the eventual winner of the tournament, World Number 14 Elena Dementieva, in the quarter-final. At the same tournament, Azarenka and her doubles partner Tatiana Poutchek, also of Belarus, lost in the final to the World Number 3 team of Liezel Huber and Cara Black in three sets. Azarenka's results at the Kemlin Cup elevated her rankings to career highs of World Number 27 in singles and World Number 29 in doubles.

[edit] 2008

Azarenka began the year at the Mondial Australian Women's Hardcourts tournament in Gold Coast, Australia. Unseeded, she reached the semi-finals, where she beat fifth-seeded Shahar Pe'er of Israel, Azarenka's sixth top 20 victory. In her third career WTA tour final, she lost to Li Na, but the points she earned in this tournament were enough to improve her ranking to a career-best World Number 25.

Azarenka was seeded 26th at the Australian Open. This was her first appearance as a seeded player in a Grand Slam singles tournament. She showed no ill effects from a leg injury while winning her first two matches but lost in the third round to seventh-seeded and defending champion Serena Williams. In doubles, Azarenka and her partner Pe'er were seeded 12th. They made it to the finals before losing to the unseeded team of Kateryna and Alona Bondarenko.

She was seeded 16th at the French Open. She defeated 18th-seeded Francesca Schiavone of Italy in the third round before losing to fourth-seeded Kuznetsova in the fourth round. Azarenka teamed with American Bob Bryan to win the mixed doubles title at the French Open, defeating the top seeded team of Katarina Srebotnik and Nenad Zimonjić in the final.

Azarenka at Wimbledon 2008

At Wimbledon, Azarenka was seeded 16th in singles and 6th in doubles (with Pe'er). In singles, Azarenka was defeated by 21st-seeded Nadia Petrova of Russia in the third round. In doubles, Azarenka and Pe'er reached the quarter-finals where they lost to the top-seeded team of Cara Black and Liezel Huber.

Azarenka was seeded 14th at the US Open but was defeated by 21st seeded Caroline Wozniacki in the third round.

[edit] 2009

Azarenka began the year at the Brisbane International as the second seed. She defeated Kateryna Bondarenko, Jarmila Groth, Lucie Šafářová and Sara Errani all in straight sets to reach her fifth career final. In the final Azarenka defeated third seed Marion Bartoli 6–3, 6–1 to win her first WTA career title.

Azarenka was seeded 13th at the Australian Open. She advanced to the fourth round for the first time, winning the first set against World No. 2 Serena Williams before she was forced to retire because of heat stress with the score being 6–3, 2–4.

At the Cellular South Cup in Memphis, Tennessee, Azarenka was seeded second. She won her second WTA title by beating her doubles partner and top seeded Caroline Wozniacki in the final. Afterwards, Wozniacki and Azarenka won the doubles title, beating Michaëlla Krajicek and Yuliana Fedak in the final.

Azarenka competing at the 2009 French Open

At the first Premier Mandatory event of the year in Indian Wells the BNP Paribas Open, Azarenka was seeded 8th and reached the quarter-finals where she lost in the semifinal to her doubles partner and eventual champion, Vera Zvonareva 6–3, 6–3. Because of her performance at this tournament, Azarenka improved her singles ranking to a career best of World No. 10.[7] She is the second woman from Belarus ever to be ranked that high, following Natasha Zvereva who was ranked World Number 5 in the late 1980s.[7]

At the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, the second Premier Mandatory event of the year, Azarenka was seeded 11th. She defeated World No. 1 and defending champion Serena Williams in the final 6–3, 6–1. This was Azarenka's first Tier I or Premier Mandatory event title. Azarenka also became the sixth teenage female singles champion in the history of this tournament, with the others being Steffi Graf, Monica Seles, Martina Hingis, Venus Williams, and Gabriela Sabatini.[8] By winning this huge tournament, Azarenka's ranking increased to a new career high of World No. 8.

Her next tournament was on clay at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany, where she lost to Gisela Dulko in the second round. At the Italian Open, Azarenka lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the semi-final.

At Roland Garros, Azarenka, seeded ninth, where she advanced to her first Grand Slam quarter-final where she fell to top seed Dinara Safina 1–6 6–4 6–2. With her playing partner Elena Vesnina, Azarenka made the final of the Ladies doubles at Roland Garros. In the final they played against the Spanish pairing of Garrigues and Ruano Pascual, and the higher-ranked Spanish pair won 6–1, 6–1.

She withdrew from her first match at the AEGON International, the warm up for upcoming 2009 Wimbledon Championships, citing a hip injury.

Azarenka was seeded 8th at the 2009 Wimbledon Championships and was the bookmaker's 3rd favorite to win the tournament. She fell, 6–2, 6–3, to 2nd seed and eventual winner Serena Williams in the quarter-final.[9]

Receiving a bye to the second round in Los Angeles, Azarenka fell to Maria Sharapova 6–7, 6–4, 6–2. At the Premier 5 event in Cincinnati, Azarenka lost to Jelena Janković in the third 7–5, 7–6(4), committing 11 double faults. At the Rogers Cup in Toronto, she was seeded 9th. She lost to returning Kim Clijsters in the second round 7–5, 4–6, 6–1.

At the US Open, Azarenka was seeded 8th. She fell to Francesca Schiavone in the third round 4–6, 6–2, 6–2.

Seeded 8th at the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, where she lost to Li Na in the quarterfinals 7–6(7), 4–6, 7–6(4) giving up a 5–1 lead in the first set. In her next tournament in Beijing, the China Open Azarenka was seeded 9th. She lost in the second round to recent Tokyo champion Maria Sharapova 6–3, (5)6–7, 7–5, leading 5–2 in the final set and serving for the match twice. She intended on playing the Kremlin Cup in Moscow, Russia, however she withdrew.

At the year-ending Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha, Azarenka vanished Jelena Janković in her first round robin match, 6–2, 6–3.[10] In her second match however, Azarenka was defeated by Caroline Wozniacki, 1–6, 6–4, 7–5. Azarenka failed to convert a match point in the final set in which she led by a break on four occasions and also served for the match at 5–3. Azarenka also conceded her serve at 5–5 to leave Wozniacki serving for the match after receiving a point penalty for racket abuse.[11] Due to her loss to Wozniacki, Azarenka had to defeat second alternate Agnieszka Radwańska to qualify for the semi-finals. She led 6–4, 5–2 with a double break before going on to lose nine of the next ten games, eventually conceding the match after severe cramping in the third set forced her to retire while trailing 4–6, 7–5, 4–1.[12]

Azarenka ended the year ranked World No. 7 with a 45–15 win-loss record having won three titles and qualified for the year ending championships for the first time in her career. On 15 December 2009, Azarenka split with long time coach Antonio Van Grichen.

[edit] 2010

Azarenka began the season at the Hong Kong Tennis Classic exhibition. She was part of Team Europe along with Caroline Wozniacki and Stefan Edberg. In her first match she defeated Gisela Dulko 6–1. The match was played best of 1 set due to rain. She withdrew from her remaining matches due to illness. She was seeded 6th at the Medibank International. She won her first three matches, all 7–5 in the 3rd set. In the semifinals she fell to the 5th seed Elena Dementieva 6–3, 6–1.

At the Australian Open she was seeded 7th. She lost to Serena Williams in the quarterfinal 4–6, 7–6(4), 6–2 giving up a 4–0 lead in the second set. This was the third consecutive year she has lost to Williams at this tournament. Seeded 4th at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, on her way to the final, she defeated Vera Zvonareva in the quarterfinals and Agnieszka Radwańska in the semifinals. In the final she lost to defending champion Venus Williams 6–3, 7–5.

At the 2010 BNP Paribas Open, she was seeded 3rd, but was upset in the 3rd round by María José Martínez Sánchez 7–6(4), 6–2.

At the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open, where she was the defending champion and 4th seed, she lost in 4th round to 14th seed, and eventual champion Kim Clijsters. This is the fourth match in the five tournaments this year that Azarenka lost to eventual champions.

At the Andalucia Tennis Experience, she was the number one seed. She had to retire in her quarterfinal match against María José Martínez Sánchez leading 4–0 due to a left thigh injury.

Seeded 3rd at the Family Circle Cup, she had to retire from her first match while leading 6–2, 2–2 against qualifier Christina McHale At the 2010 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix she was upset in the 2nd round by qualifier Anna Lapushchenkova who was ranked no. 138 at the time.

At the 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, as the 9th seed, Azarenka lost to Ana Ivanović 6–4 6–4. As the 10th seed at the 2010 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open Azarenka retired from her first round match against Shuai Peng while trailing 0–3 with a groin injury.

At the 2010 French Open, coming back from injury, Azarenka was upset, in the first round, by unseeded Gisela Dulko 1–6, 2–6. This loss caused Azarenka to fall to World No. 15.

Azarenka is unseeded at the 2010 AEGON International. Struggling with injuries, Azarenka fell to qualifier Ekaterina Makarova in the final.

Azarenka was seeded 14th at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships. She lost to Petra Kvitová in the third round, having served for the first set at 5–4 Azarenka lost nine consecutive games losing 7–5 6–0.

To begin the summer hardcourt season, Azarenka competed in the 2010 Bank of the West Classic, as a wildcard and eight seed. Azarenka defeated Maria Sharapova in the final 6–4 6–1. The win propelled Azarenka to World No. 12. Despite being the favourite to win the Mercury Insurance Open Azarenka withdrew to recover from a right shoulder injury. Seeded ninth at the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters and Women's Open, Azarenka lost to Ana Ivanović 2–6 7–6 6–2 despite serving for the match twice in the second set. However she won the doubles title partnering with Maria Kirilenko defeating Lisa Raymond and Rennae Stubbs 7–6(4), 7–6(8).

At the US Open, during the second round against Gisela Dulko and whilst trailing 5–1, Azarenka collapsed on court. There were concerns that the cause of the fall was heat related. Azarenka was taken to a local hospital for treatment, and was diagnosed with a concussion after hitting her head whilst warming up before the match during a sprint exercise.[13]

At the Toray Pan Pacific Open, she lost to Caroline Wozniacki in the semifinals 6–2, 6–7(3), 6–4. At the China Open (tennis) Azarenka retired in her secound round match, having received a bye, to Timea Bacsinszky while leading 6–4 2–3.

At the 2010 Kremlin Cup Azarenka, as the 2nd seed, defeated Maria Kirilenko in the final 6–3 6–4 coming back from 4–0 down in the second set to win her 5th career title.

Azarenka at the 2011 Australian Open

Azarenka's performance in Moscow qualified her for the season-ending 2010 WTA Tour Championships, where she was in the White Group as the 8th seed. In her first round robin match Azarenka lost to Vera Zvonareva 7–6 6–4 despite serving for the first set at 5–4 and leading 3–1 in the second. She also lost to Kim Clijsters in her second match 6–4 5–7 6–1, which assured that she did not qualify for the semifinals. Then, in her final match of the tournament and season, she defeated Janković for the second year in a row 6–4 6–1. Azarenka is set to end the year as World No.10, her second consecutive year-end Top 10 finish.

Azarenka then took part in a charitable exhibition match in mid-November with World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki, beating the Dane 6–3 6–3 at the Sports Palace in Minsk.

[edit] 2011

Azarenka began her year at the Medibank International as the 7th seed where she lost to Kim Clijsters in the quarterfinals 6–3 6–2. At the 2011 Australian Open Azarenka was seeded 8th. She lost to the ninth seed and eventual finalist, Li Na, 6–3 6–3 in the fourth round. Azarenka partnered with Maria Kirilenko in the women's doubles event but the pair lost to Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta in the final.

Azarenka then travelled to Israel to compete in Fed Cup. They beat Croatia, Austria and Greece in the group stage without losing a match. The Belarusian team then defeated Poland 2–0 to qualify for the World Group II Play-Offs in April where they will play Estonia.

Azarenka's next tournament was the 2011 Dubai Tennis Championships where she was seeded 7th. She lost to Flavia Pennetta in the third round. Azarenka then competed at the 2011 Qatar Ladies Open as the sixth seed but lost to Daniela Hantuchová in the first round in three sets, 6–4, 1–6, 2–6.

Azarenka's next event was the 2011 BNP Paribas Open where she competed as the eighth seed. She retired in the quarterfinals against World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki whilst trailing 3–0, due to a left leg injury. She also became the second person to defeat both Radwańska sisters in the same tournament.

Azarenka then competed at the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open as the eighth seed. She reached her second final at the event where she defeated sixteenth seed Maria Sharapova, 6–1, 6–4 to win the title.

At the 2011 Andalucia Tennis Experience, Azarenka was the number one seed and dropped only fourteen games on her way to the final. She defeated Irina-Camelia Begu 6–3, 6–2 in the final. Azarenka's victory, and Samantha Stosur's inability to defend her points at Charleston, ensured Azarenka would reach a career high of World number 5. She then participated in Belarus' 5–0 win over Estonia in Fed Cup, registering a 6–2 6–0 win in her singles rubber. In her next tournament the 2011 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix Azarenka retired after the first set of her first match having won the first set 6–4 against Julia Goerges ending her 12 match winning streak. Ironically, Julia went onto win the tournament.

At the 2011 Madrid Masters, Azarenka was seeded number four. She lost in the final in straight sets to Petra Kvitová, but still rose to a career high World No. 4. Azarenka then reached the quarterfinals of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, where she was up a set before retiring to eventual champion Maria Sharapova.

Azarenka was the 4th seed at the 2011 French Open. She beat Andrea Hlaváčková in the first round, Pauline Parmentier in the second round, 30th seed Roberta Vinci in the third round and Ekaterina Makarova in the fourth round to reach her fourth career Grand Slam quarterfinal. She lost to Li Na in the quarterfinals.

Azarenka was the 4th seed at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships. She beat 25th seed Daniela Hantuchová in a three set third round match before beating Nadia Petrova. She followed that up with an easy victory over Tamira Paszek, advancing to the semi-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time. Azarenka was beaten by Czech player and eventual champion Petra Kvitová, going down in 3 sets 1–6, 6–3, 2–6.

Her next tournament was the 2011 Bank of the West Classic, where she was the defending champion and seeded 1st. Azarenka was ousted by 124th ranked Marina Erakovic from New Zealand in the 2nd round. Despite her 'horrible match' in singles, Azarenka claimed the doubles title with partner Kirilenko.

The next tournament Azarenka played was the 2011 Rogers Cup where she was seeded 4th. After a bye, Azarenka crushed Stephanie Dubois, Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez and Galina Voskoboeva before being stopped by Serena Williams in the semifinals 6–3, 6–3. Azarenka would reach the doubles final with Kirilenko, but the team was forced to withdraw because of a hand injury Azarenka acquired.

Azarenka pulled out of the 2011 Western & Southern Open with the same injury.

Azarenka's next tournament was the 2011 US Open where she was seeded 4th. She made it to the third round where she was defeated by Serena Williams, 1–6, 6–7(5), despite the early loss, she will reach a new career high of No. 3 in the world.

[edit] Criticism

Azarenka has been criticized by ex-professionals for the noise she makes when hitting the ball. During the 2010 Australian Open quarterfinal between Azarenka and Serena Williams, ex-pro Pam Shriver, who was providing court-side commentary, noted that Azarenka's screams were so long that she was still yelling when Williams returned the ball.[14] She has also been noted for her tendency to lose her temper during matches.[15] In Wimbledon 2011 she grunted at 95 decibels,[16] which caused the chief executive of the All England Lawn and Tennis Club Ian Ritchie to raise the issue with the press. He issued the following statement – "Officials would prefer to see less grunting". Her average screams were recorded to last 1.5 seconds.[17][18]

[edit] Career statistics

[edit] References

  1. ^ ITF | Players | Info | Victoria Azarenka. itftennis.com. Retrieved on 11 September 2011.
  2. ^ Victoria Azarenka reaches Madrid final Retrieved 7 May 2011
  3. ^ Reuters: "Azarenka reaches first top tier final". The Guardian (21 April 2008). Retrieved on 29 June 2011.
  4. ^ Wechsler, Bob. "Day by day in Jewish sports history". Google Books. p. 317. http://books.google.com/books?id=aFkwyOIHsr8C&pg=PA317&lpg=PA317&dq=Aleksandra+Wozniak+jewish&source=bl&ots=ALnKiS6X2u&sig=6nAYWJHYDNa4j5xOAd5Rq47jDcM&hl=en&ei=QOwiSsvdDpzFtge04_XcBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3#PPA317,M1. Retrieved 2011-08-16. "November 12, 2006 Victoria Azarenka retires after losing first set by 6–2." 
  5. ^ Mirnyi and Azarenka capture US Open mixed doubles title. APF (6 September 2007). Retrieved on 29 June 2011.
  6. ^ "Tennis, Kremlin Cup: Kuznetsova advances, Sharapova, Mauresmo, Bartoli upset at Kremlin Cup". International Herald Tribune (10 October 2007). Retrieved on 29 June 2011.
  7. ^ a b Azarenka primed for Top 10. Sonyericssonwtatour.com. Retrieved on 29 June 2011.
  8. ^ Victoria Azarenka wins Sony title against gimpy Serena Williams. Sun-sentinel.com. Retrieved on 29 June 2011.
  9. ^ "Rampant Serena crushes Azarenka". BBC Sport. 30 June 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/8127310.stm. Retrieved 30 June 2009. 
  10. ^ "Azarenka dismisses Janković in Doha". Eurosport. 27 October 2009. http://www.eurosport.yahoo.com/27102009/58/azarenka-dismisses-jankovic-doha.html. Retrieved 31 June 2009. [dead link]
  11. ^ "Wozniacki beats Azarenka in thriller". Eurosport. 28 October 2009. http://www.eurosport.yahoo.com/28102009/58/wozniacki-beats-azarenka-thriller.html. Retrieved 31 June 2009. [dead link]
  12. ^ "Wozniacki through after Azarenka cramp". Eurosport. 30 October 2009. http://www.eurosport.yahoo.com/30102009/58/wozniacki-azarenka-cramp.html. Retrieved 31 June 2009. [dead link]
  13. ^ The US Open 2010 – Grand Slam Tennis – Official Site by IBM[dead link]
  14. ^ AFP 'Scream queens' distract opponents, says Evert Retrieved 30 June 2009
  15. ^ sports.in.msn.com 'Azarenka promises to control her temper' Retrieved 2 August 2009
  16. ^ "Belarusian tennis player, Victoria Azarenka ‘wail’ registers at 95 dB, but that's not the loudest". Williamtildesley.com (22 June 2011). Retrieved on 29 June 2011.
  17. ^ Hough, Andrew. (22 June 2011) "Wimbledon 2011: grunting tennis players are spoiling the game". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved on 29 June 2011.
  18. ^ Wimbledon 2011: Victoria Azarenka has crowds muttering in disapproval" Daily Mail. Retrieved on 29 June 2011.

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Michaëlla Krajicek
ITF Junior World Champion
2005
Succeeded by
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
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