Two-time Open champion Victoria Azarenka has weighed in on the controversy raging round Novak Djokovic and his supposed hamstring harm after his rampant quarter-final victory in opposition to Australian Alex de Minaur introduced the rule into the highlight once more.
The Belarusian says she was the sufferer of an analogous smear marketing campaign a decade in the past after a medical timeout controversy erupted throughout her victory over Sloane Stephens within the ladies’s semi-final in 2013.
The former world No. 1 took a medical time-out within the last levels of the match after blowing 5 match factors, claiming a rib harm had flared up.
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She went on to win her second singles title at Melbourne Park, however describes the criticism she obtained afterwards as “one of the worst things I’ve ever gone through in my professional career.”
After Djokovic’s straight-sets thumping of De Minaur, regardless of a closely strapped left hamstring, commentator Todd Woodbridge recommended the nine-time Australian Open champion might have been “playing up” the harm as a tactical ploy.
Djokovic hit again at these solutions within the subsequent press convention, saying “only my injuries are questioned.
“It is interesting to see how the narrative surrounding me continues … that is different compared to other players that have been going through similar situations.”
Azarenka empathised with Djokovic, saying “I actually can resonate with what Novak said the other day.”
“Assumptions and judgments, all those comments, are just sh*t because nobody’s there to see the full story.
“It didn’t matter how many times I said my story, it did not cut through.
“Actually it’s funny that you’re saying that because I was thinking about it.
“It took me 10 f**king years to get over it.”
Azarenka is gunning for her third title at Melbourne Park, going through reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in her semi-final.
If she prevails, a decade on from her final title in Australia, she’ll change into the simply the fourth mom within the Open period to win a grand slam, after Margaret Court, Evonne Goolagong and Kim Clijsters.
Azarenka is the final girl to efficiently defend an Australian Open title, and gave delivery to her son Leo in December 2016.
She places her twilight-era resurgence all the way down to a shift in mentality, after failing to get previous the fourth spherical of a Slam for the reason that 2020 US Open.
“I played with a lot of fear and anxiety so it really was difficult to be brave and to make the right choices in the important moments when you feel anxious and hesitant,” she mentioned.
“I worked a lot on my mindset and challenged myself on my things I wouldn’t really do before and pushed myself forward.”
