Victoria Azarenka
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| Country |  Belarus |
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| Residence | Scottsdale, Arizona, USA |
| Date of birth | 31 July 1989 |
| Place of birth | Minsk, Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, USSR now Belarus |
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) |
| Weight | 60 kg (130 lb; 9.4 st) |
| Turned pro | 2003 |
| Plays | Right-handed; Two-handed backhand |
| Career prize money | $4,068,859 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 189–87 |
| Career titles | 4 WTA, 1 ITF |
| Highest ranking | No. 6 (26 October 2009) |
| Current ranking | No. 11 (23 August 2010) |
| Grand Slam results | |
| Australian Open | QF (2010) |
| French Open | QF (2009) |
| Wimbledon | QF (2009) |
| US Open | 4R (2007) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 90–38 |
| Career titles | 4 WTA, 3 ITF |
| Highest ranking | No. 7 (7 July 2008) |
| Grand Slam Doubles results | |
| Australian Open | F (2008) |
| French Open | F (2009) |
| Wimbledon | QF (2008) |
| US Open | 2R (2009) |
| Last updated on: January 23, 2010. | |
Viktoriya Fiodorovna Azarenka, also known as Victoria Azarenka (Belarusian: Вікторыя Азарэнка, Азаранка, Russian: Виктория Фёдоровна Азаренко; born 31 July 1989) is a Belarusian professional tennis player. Her career high ranking is World No. 6, which she achieved on October 26th 2009. As of August 23, 2010, Azarenka is ranked World No. 11.
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 four singles titles, including the Premier Mandatory 2009 Sony Ericsson Open and has made three Grand Slam quarterfinal appearances.
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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.[1] In 2009 she posed in the French edition of FHM
Playing style
Azarenka is an aggressive baseliner. She is known for her well timed and powerful groundstrokes. Her best shot is her backhand which is regarded as one of the strongest currently in the women's game. She can be effective at net, as her drive volley is one of the best in the women's game. Her main weakness' are considered to be her serve, lacking both power and stability on second serve, and her movement due to a lack of sprinting power.. Her forehand can also sometimes break down and produce unforced errors, although this has improved over the years.
Tennis career
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.
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.[2]
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 Venus 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.[3]
She ended her year at the Tier I Kremlin Cup in Moscow where she upset World Number 4 Maria Sharapova in the second round.[4] 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.
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 Alyona 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.
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.
2009
Azarenka began the year at the Brisbane International as the second seed. She defeated Kateryna Bondarenko, Jarmila Groth, Lucie Safarova 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 third round withot dropping a set where she had an impressive 6-4, 6-2 win over 20th seed and 2006 champion Amelie Mauresmo. Playing in the fourth round for the first time, Azarenka won 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 defeated fourth-seeded Sabine Lisicki in the semi-finals 6–4, 3–6, 7–6(1) and then 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.
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 defeated World No. 2 Dinara Safina 6-7(4), 6-1, 6-3 before losing 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.[5] 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.[5]
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. 27 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, World No. 23 Anna Chakvetadze and 25th seed Agnes Szavay 6-2, 6-4 to advance the quarter-finals. Here, Azarenka easily defeated Samantha Stosur 6-1, 6-0 and in the semi-finals, Azarenka won a tight three-setter against 8th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 to advance to the final. Here, Azarenka stunned 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.[6]. 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 defeated Wozniacki 6–2, 6–2 to set up a quarter-final clash with Kaia Kanepi. After defeating the Estonian in straight sets, she lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the semi-final. At the Madrilena Madrid Open Azarenka had caught a small injury. However, this didn't bother her form coming into Roland Garros.
At Roland Garros, Azarenka, seeded ninth, defeated Roberta Vinci 6–4 6–2 and Kristina Barrois 7–6 7–5. In the third round, she defeated Carla Suárez Navarro 5–7 7–5 6–2 in a match which had to be suspended and played the next day. Azarenka followed this up with a 6–2, 6–3 4th round win over defending champion Ana Ivanović. Azarenka 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, Victoria 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 advanced to the second round after Séverine Brémond retired. Azarenka had won the first set 6–2. She double bageled Ioana Raluca Olaru in the second round and beat Number 28 Sorana Cîrstea in the Third Round 7–6 6–3. She then defeated 10th seed Nadia Petrova, in 3 sets, in the fourth round but fell, 6–2, 6–3, to 2nd seed and eventual winner Serena Williams in the quarter-final.[7]
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 defeated Anna Chakvetadze in the second round but fell 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. She led 4–1 in the first set and trailed 1–4 in the second set.
At the US Open, Azarenka was seeded 8th. In her first 2 rounds she defeated Alexandra Dulgheru and Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová losing only 5 games, but fell to Francesca Schiavone in the third round 4–6, 6–2, 6–2.
Seeded 8th at the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, she received a bye in the first round and won her first 2 matches against Jie Zheng and Lucie Šafářová. 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. In the first round she defeated qualifier Olga Govortsova 6–1, 6–3. She lost 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 dismissed Jelena Janković in her first round robin match, 6–2, 6–3.[8] 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.[9] 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 afer severe cramping in the third set forced her to retire while trailing 4–6, 7–5, 4–1.[10]
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 December 15, 2009, Azarenka split with long time coach Antonio Van Grichen.
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. In her first 3 matches she only lost 8 games, with a 6–0 set in each match. She continued this trend in the 4th round by defeating Vera Zvonareva 4–6, 6–4, 6–0, taking the last 10 games. This was her first victory over Zvonareva in 5 attempts. 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 breezed through her opening matching, defeating Sesil Karatantcheva 6-1 6-4. In the following round, again struggling with injury limping at times during the match Azarenka lost to Ana Ivanović 6-4 6-4. As the 10th seed at the 2010 Mutua Madrilena 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. She defeated 4th seed Agnieszka Radwańska in the first round, Heather Watson in the second round, and Kim Clijsters in the quarterfinals and 8th seed Marion Bartoli in the semifinals. Struggling with injuries, Azarenka fell to qualifier Ekaterina Makarova in the final.
Azarenka was seeded 14th at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships. She defeated Mirjana Lučić in the first round and Bojana Jovanovski in the second round 6-1 6-4, before falling to Petra Kvitova in the third round, having served for the first set at 5-4 Azarenka lost 9 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 Ayumi Morita 6-0 6-2, and Melanie Oudin 6-3 6-1, in the first and secound rounds. In the quarterfinals she defeated defending champion Marion Bartoli 3-6 6-3 6-3 and faces top seed Sam Stosur in the semifinals. She defeated Stosur 6-2 6-3 to advance to the final where she defeated Maria Sharapova 6-4 6-1. The win propels 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 Ivanovic 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, Azarenka defeated Monica Niculescu in the first round 6-0, 5-7, 6-1. During the second round with Gisela Dulko whilst trailing 5-1, Azarenka collapsed on court. There was concerns that the cause of the fall was heart related. Victoria was taken to a local hospital for treatment, and was diagnosed with concussion after hitting her head whilst warming up before the match, during a sprint exersize.[11]
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.[12] She has also been noted for her tendency to lose her temper during matches.[13]
Career statistics
References
- ↑ Reuters: Azarenka reaches first top tier final
- ↑ 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
- ↑ Mirnyi and Azarenka capture US Open mixed doubles title
- ↑ Tennis, Kremlin Cup: Kuznetsova advances, Sharapova, Mauresmo, Bartoli upset at Kremlin Cup
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Azarenka primed for Top 10
- ↑ Victoria Azarenka wins Sony title against gimpy Serena Williams
- ↑ "Rampant Serena crushes Azarenka". BBC Sport. 2009-06-30. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/8127310.stm. Retrieved 2009-06-30.
- ↑ "Azarenka dismisses Janković in Doha". Eurosport. 2009-10-27. http://www.eurosport.yahoo.com/27102009/58/azarenka-dismisses-jankovic-doha.html. Retrieved 2009-06-31.
- ↑ "Wozniacki beats Azarenka in thriller". Eurosport. 2009-10-28. http://www.eurosport.yahoo.com/28102009/58/wozniacki-beats-azarenka-thriller.html. Retrieved 2009-06-31.
- ↑ "Wozniacki through after Azarenka cramp". Eurosport. 2009-10-30. http://www.eurosport.yahoo.com/30102009/58/wozniacki-azarenka-cramp.html. Retrieved 2009-06-31.
- ↑ http://www.usopen.org/en_US/news/match_reports/2010-09-01/201009011283359551373.html
- ↑ AFP 'Scream queens' distract opponents, says Evert Retrieved 30 June 2009
- ↑ sports.in.msn.com 'Azarenka promises to control her temper' Retrieved 2 August 2009
External links
- Official website
- Victoria Azarenka on Twitter
- Victoria Azarenka on the Women's Tennis Association
- Victoria Azarenka at the International Tennis Federation
- Victoria Azarenka at the International Tennis Federation Junior Profile
- Victoria Azarenka at the Fed Cup
- Victoria Azarenka at the Internet Movie Database
- May 2009 Interview of Victoria Azarenka with TheSportsCampus.com
- 2009 Interview RizzoSports.com
| Preceded by Michaëlla Krajicek |
ITF Junior World Champion 2005 |
Succeeded by Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova |
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