Two of my favourite tennis players joined forces late last season to become the hottest doubles team on the WTA tour. Victoria Azarenka and Maria Kirilenko play seldom together, but when they do, they are up for a great performance. They showed us a proof last week in Stanford, when they have captured their third trophy together. After easy wins in earlier round, the duo posed a convincing display to defeat doubles legends Lisa Raymond and Liezel Hubel in the final act.
The courts from the Stanford University bear a special significance in their hearts, as they mark the opening chapter of their story. Last year, in their first showing together, Maria and Victoria advanced to the semifinals. To build on their great start, a couple of weeks later, playing in their second tournament, they ended up victorious by capturing the prestigious Cincinnati title.
This year, the duo has committed to playing more often and the results did not fail to come. After reaching the final of the Australian Open and winning the Premier crown in Madrid, this title comes as another glimpse of their huge potential. Both are very promising singles players. While Maria is still struggling to fulfill her talent, Azarenka's career is in full bloom. Moreover, Maria is a regular doubles player, while Victoria owns a strongest doubles resume. She has two mixed doubles Slams under her belt, plus several other Slam finals both in mixed and women's doubles. Nevertheless, as in singles, it's their inconsistency that impedes them from reaching the highest heights. Even so, given their excellent achievements in their scarce outings, their future looks bright, the duo starting to strengthen its credentials as one of the toughest on the tour.
Women's tennis needs a spark to ignite a rather dull period and I think that Victoria and Maria possess all the attributes to fill in this gap.
photos: GETTY IMAGES
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