Australian Open Victoria Azarenka Settles Accounts

MELBOURNE, Australia | Victoria Azarenka hasn't advanced past the semifinals of the Australian Open in ten years, when she was the best player in the world. The Belarusian, who was at the peak of her abilities at the time, won her second and final major championship that year on the Rod Laver Arena.

A player leaves the United States for the first time and reaches the quarterfinals in Melbourne! But this conquest had also been clouded in controversy. • Read also: stefanos tsitsipas believes in a major title this year. • Read also: Andrey Rublev: "If I go to the casino, I'm sure to win.". When the second run of the semi-finals was almost over, "Vika" took a 10-minute medical break.

Sloane Stephens, the American who would be her opponent for the day, just broke it and changed the score to 5-4 after saving three match points. Azarenka had already won the meeting when she emerged from the locker room after the following match, breaking in turn.

She later admitted to ESPN that "she needed to calm down. The young champion "couldn't breathe" while the match was being played in the sweltering heat in Melbourne.

It felt like I was having a heart attack, the woman remarked. Later, she apologized for her error and claimed she misunderstood the American network's question during a press conference.

She explained, "My back was stuck, which is why I couldn't breathe. Her worst moment The Belarusian had received a lot of criticism from the tennis community because of this extended medical break and this correction.

Azarenka had received criticism for lying on social media. It's obvious that this incident had an impact.

Having defeated third-seed American Jessica Pegula 6-4, 6-1 on Tuesday in the quarterfinals with inspired play, the 33-year-old referred to the incident as "the worst moment ever" ten years later. 's professional life.

"The way I was treated, and the fact that I was required to defend myself until 10:30 p. m.

because nobody wanted to believe me," the 24th seed in Melbourne was eliminated. There were neither villains nor heroes present, making it impossible to read the former top 10's eyes at the time. She wears sunglasses to press conferences to protect her eyes from headaches caused by the light.

But there was little room for ambiguity in the tone. It was still business as usual for Azarenka.

She responded to the journalist who questioned her on this matter, "Do you know what really happened 10 years ago? That's it, the problem.". Before the fortnight began, Serbian Novak Djokovic bemoaned the fact that, following the cancellation of his visa to Australia last year, he was characterized in the media as a "bad guy.".

On Tuesday, the Belarusian echoed the remarks made by the person with 21 major victories. She said, "There is sometimes this incredible desire to write a story with a villain and a hero.

However, we are simply everyday people going through a wide variety of experiences; we are neither villains nor heroes. "Assumptions and conclusions, these comments are garbage because no one is aware of the full context of the situation.

Despite my repeated explanations, nobody seemed to take me seriously. It took me ten damn years to move on from it.

Finally, I was successful. Accepting fear and anxiety Beyond this incident, Azarenka claimed that she had been attempting for six months to calm the anxiety that occasionally overcame her on the court and jeopardized a portion of her career.

The veteran reportedly said, "I try to accept this fear and anxiety that I have inside of me. being neutral rather than either positive or negative on the field.

Given that there are times when it resembles the old Azarenka, it appears to have worked for Vika since the beginning of the fortnight. But keep it a secret from him.

That look doesn't appeal to her. Don't worry about the title, but the Belarussian is back in the semi-finals of the Australian Open, the tournament where she won both of her two Grand Slam championships.

She will compete against Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, the 22nd seed and the 2017 Wimbledon champion, tonight or tonight (Eastern time). Does Azarenka feel she's finally ready to complete the treble in Melbourne now that she's moved past the events of ten years ago? "It's too soon to think about it," she responds.

My earlier responses to your questions about my current state of mind, I believe, have helped you to understand why I don't want to immediately think about winning.

Don't worry about the title, but the Belarussian is back in the semi-finals of the Australian Open, the tournament where she won both of her two Grand Slam championships.