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Victoria Azarenka Finds US Open Motivation In McEnroe
By Richard Pagliaro
© Tony Chang/Chang Photography
(August 30, 2010) Victoria Azarenka has been reading about relationships lately, pondering the prospect that "Women Are Crazy And Men Are Stupid" and may well have found a tennis kindred spirit in former US Open John McEnroe. Azarenka opened her US Open with a slightly schizophrenic, 6-0, 5-7, 6-1 victory over Romanian qualifier Monica Niculescu and could be poised to make some noise in the same quarter of the draw that includes third-seeded Venus Williams and French Open champion Francesca Schiavone.
The 10th-seeded Belarusian strikes the bold, flat strokes that play well on the US Open hard courts. Azarenka has the ability to overpower virtually any woman in the draw when she's on her game, but knows she must channel her tendency to erupt in anger when things aren't going well into positive energy.
Enter McEnroe.
The pair met during a World TeamTennis match and when Azarenka slipped an ace past McEnroe he was impressed enough to invite her to hit.
"I played World TeamTennis against him this summer and I actually aced him there and he was like 'How could you ace me?' " Azarenka recalls. "And he was like 'I would love to hit with you.' He's absolutely a good guy."
Both Azarenka and McEnroe are Nike endorsers. They practiced together before the Open and Azarenka came off the court feeling she could relate to the temperamental New Yorker.
"John is great. He has the kind of personality kind of close to mine," Azarenka said. "It was great to hit with him. He is playing unbelievable. He chips and plays the forehand flat. It was a great experience and I really appreciated that. He told me I could hit with him any time and I am definitely gong to take that opportunity. I think it looks like he is losing it, but he's not. He stays focused and has that passion for the game."
Playing with passion without losing her purpose or her temper has been a challenge for Azarenka, who is soft spoken off court but can scream at herself in frustration on court. Azarenka asserts her anger can be the fuel to ignite her play provided she doesn't delve into periods of frustration.
"I think there are two different ways to get angry or to get upset," Azarenka said. "If I get angry to push myself to do better, which may seem I'm getting frustrated at myself, but I'm not. I am an emotional player. l just to bring myself into the game and that's what I need to do."
Azarenka applied that emotion in beating Serena Williams in the 2009 Miami final and dispatched Maria Sharapova in last month's Stanford final. With Serena and Justine Henin both out of the draw, can Azarenka seize the opportunity to reach her first semifinal?
"I do believe in myself; in Miami it was different," Azarenka said. "Every week is different and in a Grand Slam it's very different. Maria has been playing really well even after Stanford. There are so many good players on the Tour, but I believe in myself."
An avid reader, Azarenka has been reading her second book in English, a satire on relationship self-help books: "Women Are Crazy And Men Are Stupid."
"It was really funny because my coach always carries thousands of books with him and I actually haven't been reading books in English, this was my second one, and I was like 'Okay I'm gonna buy it,' " Azarenka said. "So I've been reading it."
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