Tennis fans are salivating over the opportunity to see Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka renew their rivalry on the sport’s biggest stage on Thursday night in New York.
So is Victoria Azarenka.
“I love playing against Serena,” a giddy Azarenka told reporters after her quarterfinal win on Wednesday night. “We always played on big stages. There were a lot of big fights. She's one of the players who pushes me to the limit, who makes me better. I'm excited for that.”
Whether the Belarusian is able to get that long-awaited first win over the legendary American at a Grand Slam or not (she has lost all 10 Grand Slam matches they have played), she’s clearly going to relish this hard-earned opportunity as she continues to dance to the beat of her own drummer and roll through opponents at the US Open.
“I’m sure there’s going to be a lot of fight and a lot of feistiness,” Azarenka predicted, after she mauled Belgium’s Elise Mertens for her tenth consecutive victory in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Day 10. “I can’t wait.”
Back in the semifinals of a Grand Slam for the first time since 2013, Azarenka is playing tennis in a trance. While doing an interview with ESPN after her quarterfinal she joked that she is seeing the ball so well that she can read the US Open logo before she makes contact with it. Maybe it wasn’t a joke after all.
More important than the quality of her ball-striking is Azarenka’s mentality. Pundits can scratch their heads and wonder why her devastating baseline game went missing in action for so long, but Azarenka is not concerned about the past.
It wasn’t always the case for the former World No.1, who says she used to take her wins and losses far too seriously. Some players pay lip service to the concept of having nothing to lose, but Azarenka is embodying the sentiment and it is enabling her to play unencumbered tennis.
The two-time US Open runner-up is no longer the player that was so desperate to win that losses would leave her unable to function normally for several days. Like her friend, rival, and fellow mother Serena, Azarenka has matured, lived and learned, and grown wiser.
“I think before, it would get to me, I would believe people that [told me] I’m not really capable of something,” she said of the pressure that used to make her miserable. “This is my life and I’m going to do what I want. You can be the most beautiful peach in the world and someone will still be allergic to peaches.”
Vika 2.0 is not the same person she once was, but she is looking like the player she once was. As she prepares to face her biggest measuring stick, Azarenka takes comfort in the fact that her biggest win is already in the books.
“I can definitely say this is the most exciting part for me,” Azarenka said. “I mean, being in the semifinal of a Grand Slam is a blessing for sure, it's an amazing opportunity. The way I feel about myself, about my tennis, about my life, is the biggest win for me right now.”
