As an unknown kid she was sponsored by hockey goalie Nikolai Khabibulin, who brought her to his Scottsdale home so she could get tough competition. She grunts like a wrestler. But young Victoria Azarenka, just 22, is all about tennis. Fierce expression, bouncy athleticism and power strokes in place, the Belarus player by way of Arizona and Monte Carlo, is making a long-awaited statement atop women’s tennis.
Issue the memo. Women’s tennis at last has a dominant No. 1. For, after a string of No. 1 players who were hampered by less-than-imposing mindsets and/or the inability to claim Slams, Azarenka is able and willing to embrace the big stage and wear the crown with confidence and conviction. OK, she may not be a fashion maven with her leggings and floppy shorts. And she is not that cuddly. Nor is she a charming, user-friendly gal with a sunshine smile. But unlike Serena, she’s a regular on the tour. And unlike Dinara Safina (bad back, fragile mind,) Jelena Jankovic (modest game,) Ana Ivanovic (injuries and suspect results) and Dane Caroline Wozniacki (no imposing weapons and no Slam finals) Victoria has both won a Slam (the Aussie Open) and has used her No.-1 ranking more as a heady springboard then a weighty, woe is me burden.
After all, this year she has a 23-0 record, has scored 6-0 wins in seven different sets, has nine wins over Top 10 players and with her 1:25 6-2, 6-3 dismissal of No. 2 Maria Sharapova in the BNP Paribas Open final, she claimed her fourth tourney win in less than three months.
Do we have a new dominator in our midst?
Well, at Indian Wells, Azarenka seemed to have just two problems. First, she let a huge lead over German Mona Barthel slip away, but somehow managed to survive in a titanic 3:01 struggle. And, as the headlines blasted that loud Victoria was “The Scream of the Crop,” she had to fend off all those troublesome questions about her “Best in Show” grunting.
Throughout she was simply dismissive, saying
“We’ve addressed that many times before.” But tournament officials Charlie Pasarell, Ray Moore and Steve Simon did comment on the question, saying that they hear complaints about it all the time; that it is on the agenda at every WTA meeting; that it was curious that some grunters are silent when they practice but ultimately it’s hard to control and that, at best, limits would have to be set in smaller challenger tournaments or in the juniors. All being said, tournament director Steve Simon, a WTA Board member, conceded, “ I don’t think there is really a good answer.”
Instead, what we saw was Vika’s very good play, and when she won a dandy all-court scramble point to secure the championships, she offered a (high-knee) jig, several fist pumps and a vast, ecstatic smile.
And why not? She had again dismissed Sharapova, as she had in the Aussie Open final. She had prevailed in the first WTA meeting of a No. 1 and No. 2 player since ’04, and she had just pocketed $1 million (and now has almost $3 million for the year.)
Still, there are questions. Can she sustain? How will she do on clay? Are her (“growing pains can be challenging”) physical struggles behind her. And get this, can she have a season like Novak Djokovic’s 2011 or even go undefeated this year, as some dreamers fantasized.
Once so intense, Azarenka now seems relatively mellow, quite happy and almost funny. She says that being No. 1 “doesn’t hurt, trust me,” but ultimately it is “just a number … The importance of being on top of the game [is] when your’re not playing your best.”
After all her success this year, Azarenka was asked how she could be beaten. She replied with just a slight twinkle in her triumphant eye, “It would be really interesting to play myself … to figure out the way to beat myself so I can improve even more.”
