Victoria Azarenka and Beatriz Haddad Maia had hardly put a foot wrong as a doubles pair so far at the 2023 US Open ... until about 15 minutes into in their Labor Day win over Miyu Kato and Aldila Sutjiadi, that is.
At the close of a first-set rally, Azarenka hit a smash didn't find the court. It found the back of her partner's leg instead.
"For me, [the match] wasn't easy," Haddad Maia joked after the pair's 6-2, 6-0 third-round triumph. "I'm feeling my leg!"
Bruised legs, or egos, notwithstanding, Azarenka and Haddad Maia have been ostensibly flawless so far en route to the quarterfinals in women's doubles. Through three rounds (with one walkover), they've only dropped five games in four completed sets.
Picking a doubles partner is just as much art as it is science, and players like Azarenka and Haddad Maia—who, historically, have prioritized singles—represent a modern influence on the doubles game. The pair were both beaten earlier than they'd hoped to be at the US Open; Azarenka, seeded 18th, was upset by Zhu Lin in Round 2 and Haddad Maia, the No. 19 seed, fell to Taylor Townsend in the same round.
But they've stuck around in the city that never sleeps, and despite their unseeded status, the pair are a bonafide threat to take the title.
Former world No. 1 Azarenka, now 34, has been a positive influence on the comparatively-later blooming Haddad Maia, who, this spring, made history for Brazilian tennis by reaching the Roland Garros semifinals and becoming the first woman from her country to crack the world's Top 10 in the five-decade history of the WTA rankings. (That run, coincidentally, came about a month after she paired up with Azarenka for the first time. They announced themselves by taking title at the WTA 1000 clay-court event in Madrid.)
"Always by her side, I feel stronger, and that inspires me a lot," Haddad Maia, 27, said. "I think Vika always, since the first match, [in] tough moments, when we have moments that we are no feeling so go, she always tells [me], 'Don't hesistate. Go for it. Go big,' so always, the mentality [is] aggressive, and I think it's why she has had so much success in her career.
"It's things that I would like to improve to my game as well. Her team has nice energy. We can learn off-court. So it's nice to share, and I think ... I'm learning every day a little bit, and I can try to have a little bit of her success as well."
Azarenka, too, has praise not just for the big-hitting Brazilian, but for her traveling fan club. Haddad Maia is a crowd favorite wherever she goes, and New York is no exception; on Monday, Grandstand was dotted with spectators clad in the country's signature bright-yellow soccer jerseys, and rousing cheers went up as the two-time Australian Open singles champion told the crowd that she felt like an honorary Brazilian.
"It's been a pleasure to play with Bia, to get to know her as a person, to be a part of Brazilian craziness in a good way," Azarenka said.
"I feel like doubles sometimes gets overlooked, but when we come out here, and we have so much support on a big court ... elevating the doubles game is really important. We've been having quite a bit of fun on the doubles court this year, and I hope we continue to do well."'
Up next for the duo is a meeting with the No. 12 seeds, and 2020 US Open champions, Laura Siegemund and Vera Zvonareva.
Haddad Maia is bidding for her first Grand Slam title of any kind, having finished runner-up at the 2022 Australian Open with Anna Danilina, while Azarenka hopes to win a long-awaited first doubles Grand Slam title. Azarenka reached four previous Grand Slam doubles titles in her career (three before she won her first major in singles at the 2012 Australian Open), and another one in mixed doubles.
