When Victoria Azarenka sustained the ankle injury back in early March, I suspected her of being a drama queen. Judging by the lengthy time off, it seems she wasn't faking it though. Her decision to skip her former playground tournament in Miami, as well as the first big clay court tournament in Stuttgart, could justify the seriousness of the injury. However with Vika you never know.
Anyways, she was ready to rock and roll again at the beginning of this week when she entered Madrid, a tournament where she is the two time runner-up. She was handled a difficult draw though. Her first round opponent, Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, is currently playing the tennis of her life after teaming up with my former darling, Martina Hingis, so everyone was expecting a fierce battle. However, I felt it was an accessible match for the former world No.1, but a clear victory became a tough test after the Belorussian failed to close out both sets. She did make it through, though just barely after surviving two tense tiebreaks. While many were quick to criticize her form, I actually appreciated her mental toughness.
However, what she showed in her next match, was far beyond any mental toughness. Victoria started strongly, sealing the first set 6-1. Makarova, a dangerous player who stunned Azarenka some years back in the Eastbourne final, responded. Vika lost her focus and dropped the second act 2-6. The decider saw a change of fortunes with the Belorussian quickly building a 3-1 lead. Not sure what went through her mind, but at that point, Vika completely lost her temper. After swearing several times, she destroyed her racquet, got a point penalty for unorthodox behavior, got into a feisty fight with the chair umpire and ended up losing five consecutive games to gift away her first loss of the season. Makarova seized the opportunity and spoiled Victoria's perfect record this season.
It remains to be seen how she will regroup after this tough loss. She is definitely not winning fans with her uncool display on court and sometimes having the public against you can hurt you during matches. I remember last year's Roland Garros when the crowd was cheering all her opponents, frustrating Vika who eventually crashed out prematurely in the fourth round to Slovak Dominika Cibulkova. I am OK though with her doing her thing as long as it does not affect her tennis. I really look forward to seeing her invincible self back next week in Rome where she'll be hoping to get a confidence boost ahead of French Open. Let's do this Vika!
photo: GETTY IMAGES
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