INDIAN WELLS, California—The most successful player on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour right now is not named Serena Williams, Dinara Safina or even Jelena Jankovic.
The best professional women’s tennis player of 2009 is an agile nineteen year-old from Minsk, Belarus.
It may come as a surprise to some, yet for others it was to be expected. Azarenka has been touted for two years as one of the stars of the future, but it was not until January that she started to live up to the expectations.
No one doubted her mixed doubles prowess as she won the 2007 US Open with Max Mirnyi and the 2008 French Open with Bob Bryan. She had the game, the skills and the mindset of a champion, but still one thing eluded her—her first singles title.
Winning a trophy in singles would prove to be more difficult than in doubles. That is until she headed for Australia to start 2009.
The first week of the new Sony Ericsson WTA Tour season had hardly ended before Azarenka lifted her first trophy. It was a long time coming for the Scottsdale, Arizona resident, but emphatically worth the wait. Only weeks after winning in Brisbane, Azarenka backed up her win with a second title, this time in Memphis.
“There is nothing like a great feeling of winning a tournament and finally making it after four losses in the finals before,” Azarenka told On the Baseline on Tuesday. “For me, it was a big step forward. I started playing at a better level, especially confidence wise.”
Azarenka’s wins have not come at the larger tournaments in Melbourne, Dubai or Sydney, but with her two singles titles and her run here at Indian Wells, Azarenka holds the best win-loss record of the year (16-1). Her lone loss was at the Australian Open in a match that Azarenka will likely remember for some time.
It was any rising player’s dream come true. Azarenka had a set in hand against an erratic Serena Williams with a chance to spring an upset and down the then nine-time Grand Slam champion. At 2-4 in the second set, fate dealt Azarenka an unlucky break.
In the middle of the hottest summer Australia has felt in years, Azarenka dizzily succumbed to heat exhaustion after stumbling around the back of the court. Suddenly, her upset dream became a player’s worst nightmare.
Now three months later, Azarenka has her sights set on another prize, somewhat smaller granted, but nonetheless important. She has progressed through the draw at Indian Wells, scoring wins over Yaroslava Shvedova, Elena Vesnina and most recently, Shahar Peer in the fourth round. Azarenka has an ambitious schedule at the BNP Paribas Open, as she is also entered into the doubles draw with Vera Zvonareva. Ironically, if both women win their quarterfinal matches, the doubles partners will face each other in the semifinals.
Azarenka credits her new form to her renewed fitness as well as increased confidence. “I did change the fitness coach,” Azarenka said. “I’ve been working a lot on my game to improve every part of it. It was just more believing in myself that I could do it.”
The conditions at Indian Wells are similar to her home base in Scottsdale where she has lived for two years. When asked if this has helped her in California, she agreed that although the courts were different, it did give her a slight edge over some of her opponents who were not accustomed to the desert dryness and heat.
“It did help, but actually now I realize that the conditions, especially the courts, are completely different than in Arizona,” Azarenka said. “But weather wise, it does help because I’m used to heat and for me, it’s like home here.”
After starting the year ranked at No. 15, Azarenka is now on the verge of cracking the Top 10. She knows that it may happen soon, but does not want to spend too much time dwelling on the possibility.
“Whenever it comes, I’m going to think about it. Right now, I’m eleven and that’s what I am,” Azarenka said. “Whenever I’m going to be up there, I’ll probably be thinking, ‘Yeah, it’s good. I’m in top ten.’ As long as I’m not there, there is nothing to think about.”
If she continues to play at her current level, Azarenka will be thinking about her new ranking very soon. She is only forty-two ranking points behind the current No. 10, Agnieszka Radwanska, who is still alive in the singles draw at the BNP Paribas Open. Azarenka will face top seed Dinara Safina on Wednesday night before Radwanska plays newcomer Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova on Thursday.
On the Baseline’s live coverage of the 2009 BNP Paribas Open is brought to you by Grand Slam Tennis Tours.
Oh it posted. Please delete the above reply, Thnaks.
Azarenka is really impressive now, she has made great progress with her coach and whatever happens this week and over this season, she certainly has a great career ahead of her.
Thanks, Alice, for catching that typo. I appreciate it!
As requested, I deleted your comment.
I think Azarenka has what it takes to win the tournament. After seeing her play in Australia against Serena (until the heat got to her) and then last night, I see plenty of talent there. She was so excited after winning. As I said in my Safina post I just want someone to grab the tiger by the tail and get going. At this point Azarenka doesn’t feel pressure. It seems like when players now start feeling the pressure of no 1 or getting close to it they can’t just step up. Safina has had a couple times to be no 1. Also Ivanovic despite the injury just didn’t seem the same after Roland Garros and reaching no 1. Jankovic has caved this year so far. So go Azarenka and take advantage because you can play.