Victoria Azarenka has yet to take another look at thewomen’s tennis match of the year: The one in which she and Serena Williamsimposed their volume and baseline power on each other deep into a third set;the one Azarenka lost despite serving for her first United States Open title.
Such a defeat might have dimmed the year-end zeal of aless-driven woman, but Azarenka still has bright and shiny goals to chase inthe twilight of her finest season. Since that closing-night disappointment inNew York, she has bounced way back by winning 13 straight matches withoutdropping a set and by strengthening her grip on the top ranking, which she hasnow held for 34 weeks.
All that remains is the W.T.A. Championships, the eliteeight-woman grand finale in Istanbul. InAzarenka’s current frame of mind and game, only Williams would be a favoriteagainst her at the championships. But other threats lurk, including PetraKvitova, who thrived on the quick indoor surface used last year in Istanbul,defeating Azarenka in the final.
''I don’t mind her motion' 'Lindsay Davenport a former top ten player said. ''Youcan have kind of a funky motion, and you can still have a live arm. AndyRoddick taught everyone that, and for whatever reason, she doesn’t quite snapher wrist, doesn’t quite go for it. I’d love to see her in practice try and hitthe 110- or 115-mile-an-hour serve because I think she could do it.'' The goodnews is that Azarenka has much room to improve and she is already No. 1 and aGrand Slam singles champion. That sounds like a logical combination until youremember that her friend and Monaco neighbor Caroline Wozniacki finished No. 1in 2010 and 2011 without winning a major title.
Wozniacki, who has dropped out of the top 10, is a reminderof the fragility of tennis success. Has Azarenka given her encouragement?''It’s hard to do that, because maybe she doesn’t want to hear it from me,''Azarenka said, adding that, ''I always have only positive things for her, and Iwish her all the best.'' Azarenka sacrificed more than most to become a tennisstar: leaving her family and her home in Minsk, Belarus, to train first inSpain and then in the United States. She recognizes now that the self-imposedpressures generated by those sacrifices were a big part of what once held herback. She was, however, not quite coolenough in New York to collect her second Grand Slam singles title, but she didpush Williams in a new and more convincing fashion. Perhaps she’ll get anotherchance in Istanbul.
