Sunday, October 31, 2010

Victoria Azarenka

Viktoriya Fiodorovna Azarenka, also known as Victoria Azarenka (Belarusian: Вікторыя Азарэнка, Азаранка, Russian: Виктория Фёдоровна Азаренко; born 31 July 1989) is a Belarusian professional tennis player. Her career high ranking is World No. 6, which she achieved on October 26, 2009. As of October 4, 2010, Azarenka is ranked World No. 10.

Azarenka has won two mixed doubles Grand Slam titles — 2007 US Open with Max Mirnyi and 2008 French Open with Bob Bryan. She has won five singles titles, including the Premier Mandatory 2009 Sony Ericsson Open and has made three Grand Slam quarterfinal appearances.

At the 2010 Kremlin Cup Azarenka, as the 2nd seed, defeated Andrea Petkovic 6-4 2-6 6-1 , and Alisa Kleybanova 6-1 6-3 in the quarterfinal. She then beat Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez 6-3 6-3 in the semifinals and Maria Kirilenko in the final 6-3 6-4 coming back from 4-0 down in the second set to win her 5th career title.

Azarenka's performance in Moscow qualified her for the season-ending 2010 WTA Tour Championships, where she is in the White Group as the 8th seed. In her first round robin match Azarenka lost to Vera Zvonareva 7-6 6-4 despite serving for the first set at 5-4 and leading 3-1 in the second. She also lost to Kim Clijsters in her second match 6-4 5-7 6-1, which assured that she did not qualify for the semifinals. Then, in her final match of the tournament and season, she defeated Jankovic for the second year in a row 6-4 6-1. Azarenka is set to end the year as World No.10, her second consecutive year-end Top 10 finish.

Criticism
Azarenka has been criticized by ex-professionals for the noise she makes when hitting the ball. During the 2010 Australian Open quarterfinal between Azarenka and Serena Williams, ex-pro Pam Shriver, who was providing court-side commentary, noted that Azarenka's screams were so long that she was still yelling when Williams returned the ball. She has also been noted for her tendency to lose her temper during matches.



statics
Country : Belarus
Residence : Scottsdale, Arizona, USA
Date of birth : 31 July 1989 (1989-07-31)
Place of birth : Minsk, Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, USSR
now Belarus
Height: 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight : 60 kg (130 lb; 9.4 st)
Turned pro : 2003
Plays : Right-handed (two-handed backhand)

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