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Azarenka Video Score: 5 / 5[/random]

AZARENKA LOSES

World number one women’s tennis player Victoria Azarenka has lost her first match in the calendar year of 2012, bringing an end to a 26 match unbeaten streak from the start of the year in the first three months when she was beaten in straight sets by Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli in the Quarter Final match of the Sony Ericsson Open. The 26 match unbeaten streak that Azarenka accumulated in the first three months is the best winning streak by any female player on Tour since former world number one Martina Hingis went 37 matches without defeat at the start of the 1997 season.

Azarenka looked visibly tired during the match and did very little to hold off a determined Bartoli who is hungry for an A-list title, not having won one since ages. Her baseline shots made Azarenka look like a child and she made many uncharacteristic mistakes that no one expected of the 2012 Australian Open champion. Victoria Azarenka had a very unreliable serve throughout the match and the atypical mistakes that she made from the baseline all conspired to bring about her downfall and ending her winning streak.

Speaking in the press conference after the match, a visibly disappointed Azarenka stated that this loss might just be the inspiration that she needed, adding that she’s just human and not a superwoman. But she also stated that she is extremely proud of what she has done over the last couple of months and hopes that the next times, she’ll go much longer than just 26 games without defeat.

Victoria Azarenka is now looking for the start of the clay court season where she is hoping to grab the French Open title, something that she has dreamt of since her early days in tennis and feels this is the right moment for it.

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Azarenka Video clip Rating: 5 / five[/random]

AZARENKA HITS NUMBER 1

Belarusian tennis star Victoria Azarenka is back in the No 1 position – congratulations to her!! After her surprising defeat at the Qatar Open, she was very much upset with her form, with it being reported that she had even thought of quitting the sport altogether. This crisis of confidence was certainly a factor in her losing more matches.

In an interview she revealed that losing was not at all fun for her because she plays with a lot of passion and desire, and can’t stand it when she ends up on the losing side.

But, thanks to God according to Azarenka, she changed her mind and took a break. Suddenly in 2011, she shocked every tennis lover by winning 55 out of 72 matches, finishing the year as the world’s no 3. In 2012, she won the Australian open and snatched the top spot, and is currently on cloud 9 after beating Agneiszka Radwanska on Saturday and reaching the Qatar open final. She will face Sam Stosur in the final.

She is now considered as the best player on the WTA circuit and all the credit for this goes to her outstanding effort and incredible patience. Her improvement has won her great compliment from tennis legend Martina Navratilova. According to Martina she has talent and personality to be a great competitior for many years to come.

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Azarenka Video Rating: 4 / 5[/random]

AZARENKA OUT OF FED CUP

Newly crowned Australian Open champion and the number one female tennis player in the world, Victoria Azarenka has pulled out of the Fed Cup singles match against the United States of America this week, citing back injury problems.

It would have been the first match for the Belarusian player since being crowned the Australian Open champion but the injury in her lower back that has been her chronic problem since her youth days has prevented her from donning the colors of Belarus for the match.

Azarenka breezed through the match against Maria Sharapova in the final of the first Grand Slam of the year, where she was the underdog for most people, defeating the former world number one by a margin of 6-3, 6-0 to win her first major title in professional tennis. The 22 year old has a perfect record in singles in 2012, having not lost a match in singles and boasting a 12-0 record this year and has already won two titles, the other being in Sydney.

In the absence of Victoria Azarenka, Anastasiya Yakimova was drafted in as her replacement at the last minute and she was handsomely beaten by Christina McHale 6-0, 6-4 in the opening singles match before Serena Williams put the Americans in the driving seat by winning her match to give them a 2-0 lead, with three matches still to be played.

Azarenka has been a big crowd puller this year, with her attitude during wins in the Australian Open putting the proverbial icing on top of the cake. Her pulling out of the Fed Cup tie took out the gloss from the match which saw attendances drop considerably for one of the biggest matches in the history of tennis in Belarus and with Victoria Azarenka out, their chances of progressing looks extremely bleak at the moment.