Victoria Azarenka is going to play in the 2020 U.S. Open Women's Singles Semifinals against 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams. Their relationship is very good, not only is they a sympathetic opponent, but also one of the few mother players in today's women's professional tennis world.
Over the past few years, the story of Americans is well known. We know that she married and had a daughter, and we understand how much she longs for a new Grand Slam title when she no longer has to fight. The Belarusian girl, on the other hand, wrote her own life on the other side, going through just as many trials between pregnancy, breakup, childbirth and comeback.
They're coming from different directions and are about to cross paths again in the 2020 US Open women's singles semifinals – Serena Williams has the upper hand in the past record with 18 wins and 4 losses.
But, like her name "Victoria," Azarenka doesn't care who her opponents are or what kind of big game she's in. All she wants is to beat herself up and set a good example for her soon-to-be 4-year-old son, Leo.
That way, that's enough.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right">
The advancement of a genius girl</h1>
Azarenka was born on July 31, 1989, to an ordinary family in Minsk, Belarus.
In a small apartment with only two bedrooms, she lives with her grandparents, parents, and brother. As a teenager, she enjoyed listening to rap music, watching rock movies, and was amused by Plushenko's Sex Bomb.
However, only tennis is her everything.
In the arena of the National Olympic Training Center, she hit the ball against the wall again and again, then the next beat, the next one. She told herself that it was Graf and Seles across from her, but that these hypothetical "opponents" always "stood still" when returning the ball, and did not put much pressure on her by moving.
As a "gifted girl", Azarenka officially turned professional in 2003. She reached the final four at the 2005 WTA Guangzhou Open, losing to Yan Zi in the semifinals. The following year he won his first WTA doubles title at Tashkent and reached the top 100 in the world rankings.
What impressed Chinese fans was her performance at the 2008 Australian Open. Under the age of 19 at the time, she partnered with Israeli player Pierre to challenge Zheng Jie/Yan Zi, the winner of the 2006 tournament and the final four of 2007, in the semi-finals. As a result, in a two-hour and 27-minute battle, the combination of Belarus and Israel swallowed the egg in the first set, and then stubbornly saved two match points in the second set and won 7-5, winning seven in the decider.
For Chinese fans, it is a pity that the Australian Open and Wimbledon two-time Grand Slam women's doubles winner Zheng Jie/Yan Zi are out, but for the young Azarenka, being able to beat the former tournament champion to advance to the Grand Slam final has become her biggest achievement in the early stages of professional tennis, and also gives the Minsk girl more confidence in herself.
In 2009, Azarenka had the most "bumper" year of his career. She beat Bartoli in the Brisbane final earlier this year to win her first Tour women's singles title. In the fourth round of the Australian Open, Serena Williams took a set, and the French Open advanced to the women's singles quarterfinals, and finally entered the WTA year-end finals that year.
Melbourne Park has also become her blessed place, with her 6-3, 6-0 victory over Sharapova in the 2012 Australian Open final. While winning his first Grand Slam championship trophy, he also topped the WTA ranking first.
In the same year, she gave up doubles games altogether in order to focus on singles. But years of playing in women's doubles have trained her to become a smart, courageous and indomitable all-rounder, which has also laid the foundation for her to defend her title by defeating China's Li Na in the Australian Open women's singles final a year later.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > the adventure of mom contestants
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However, after winning two consecutive Australian Open women's singles titles, after achieving the "Sunshine Doubles" in Indian Wells and Miami in 2016, she announced her pregnancy before the start of Wimbledon in the same year, and the child's due date is the end of the year.
'I miss my days at the ball game and I will definitely miss this season. She announced the somewhat surprising news on her official website and said she would definitely return to the pitch in the future. "Now I'm going to take the time to improve myself and be a qualified mom." I was touched by the strong female athletes who could come back to the field after giving birth, and I really admired them and I planned to do that myself. ”
On December 20, 2016, she announced the birth of her son Leo on social networking sites. But before people could congratulate her and boyfriend Billy McKig, the couple decided to break up.
It wasn't a quiet breakup, and both sides wanted custody of their sons. During the court trial, Azarenka was asked not to leave California with her son, meaning she had to miss that year's U.S. Open and 2017 Australian Open, which she had intended to make a comeback in the summer of 2017.
No one would have anticipated such a thing, and the distance between her and professional tennis seemed to be drifting away. However, she was willing for Leo.
A year later, things were resolved. In the spring of 2018, she accepted a wild card from the Indian Wells Organizing Committee, starting from the 204th place ranking and facing Britain's Watson in the first round.
"Now I'm incredibly excited, I've won here twice in the past and this event has a very special place in my heart. I look forward to coming to Indian Wells Tennis Garden again and presenting myself in front of the world's best fans." ”
She won the first round, losing in the second round of the women's singles to Stevens, the American girl she had beaten in the Australian Open semifinals. Although she did not win, the Belarusian girl was not unhappy at all.
In fact, accepting the wild card of the Indian Wells Organizing Committee and being able to reappear on the court, she is already satisfied. After all, in the past two years, all around her are "single mothers", "ex-boyfriends", "custody lawsuits", "comebacks", "withdrawals"...
From 2018 to 2020, from Indian Wells to Today's New York, from WTA rankings of 204th to 27th, Azarenka finally put herself back on top tennis. This year's US Open, she successfully reached the women's singles semifinals, and together with her victory in the quarter-finals, Pilongkova and Serena, who is about to play against Xiaowei in the semifinals, became one of the spokespeople for the WTA's "Mom Player".
"Really, being a mother is the best thing I've ever experienced." Now, she says she's always trying to be a better person, a mom who makes Leo proud. Both on and off the court, she says it's what drives her to keep moving forward and playing great tennis.
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > is there anything better</h1>?
In the 2020 US Open, Azarenka has played five matches, defeating Austrian Haas 6-1, 6-2, defeating No. 5 seed Sabarenka 6-1, 6-3, eliminating Polish rising star Sviatek 6-4, 6-2, reversing No. 20 seed Mukhova 5-7, 6-1, 6-4, and sweeping No. 16 seed Mertens 6-1, 6-0.
In the next semi-final, she will be going to challenge the 23rd Grand Slam champion.
"What could be better than this[ situation]?" After winning the quarter-finals, the Belarusian girl said. "For me, no. I'm so excited and being able to play against a champion is a great opportunity for me. She was my friend and I respected her in particular. ”
As Azarenka put it, they are really a very interesting pair: both competition and friendship.
In 2012 and 2013, Serena williams beat Azarenka in consecutive US Open finals, and this year is the third time in their careers that they have met in the final in New York. At the 2015 French Open, even if there was a "Serena long-term sparring baguin switch to Azarenka team", they could still talk and laugh after the sparkling game.
"Serena played so well," Azarenka said, "and there's every reason to win this game." The American said after the game that he also took two pairs of shorts from her opponent, "She's a great person, we have a very good relationship and we text each other a lot." I said her shorts looked good, and she gave me two. ”
Regarding their "good relationship", there is a special image of the picture to illustrate.
It was the 2016 WTA Indian Open, where the Belarusian girl played as the 13th seed and 2012 tournament champion, saving 11 of the 12 break points in the final, beating the top seed Serena Williams 6-4 with two, ending a five-game losing streak against her opponent. At the award ceremony, as Azarenka walked towards the championship trophy, the defeated American made a "victory" gesture behind her and spat out her tongue. The footage was captured and became a footnote to the event and the friendship between them.
Two years later in Indian Wells, they met again on the pitch, this time as "mom players.". Although they did not play in the game, their presence gave great encouragement to other players.
"So many players are back on the pitch and they're full of desire for the game, which is a good thing, I want them to get stronger and believe they can get good results. I'm actually quite curious, after having children and coming back to the field again, it must feel very different. Simone Halep, then the world's number one, paid her heartfelt tribute to them, and her views represented many people.
Now, with the respect of young people and the expectations of children, Azarenka and Serena are back.