Victoria Azarenka competed at the 2013 Australian Open as the reigning champion of the tournament. The athlete approached the matches in Melbourne in excellent shape, because not only the title was at stake, but also the coveted title of the first racket of the world.

Victoria was lucky with the net, and the Belarusian herself did not give her rivals any hope of a sensation, confidently removing one tennis player after another from her path. In the final match, Azarenka had to play with the most experienced Chinese woman Li Na. Despite her depressed emotional state, Victoria was able to muster her will and defend her title.

And the main surprise awaited Victoria at the awards. During the presentation of the championship cup, it turned out that the organizers made a grave mistake: instead of BLR (Belarus), they engraved BEL (Belgium).

Was emotionally depressed

The Belarusian tennis player’s path to the final was not the most difficult. The first serious problems arose in the semifinals with American Sloane Stephens. In the second set, with the score 5:4, Azarenka missed five match points. She took a medical break, which lasted a little longer than expected, and left the court, and after returning she still made a decisive break.

Everything was within the rules, but the tennis community accused Victoria of cheating: allegedly the athlete deliberately took a break to throw the American off her rhythm. The 23-year-old tennis player was hit with a barrage of criticism and negativity from both ordinary fans and tennis experts. Such pressure could not but affect the athlete’s emotional state before the final.

Pauses decided the outcome of the match

Victoria entered the final meeting with Li Na amid loud booing from the stands, and throughout the match it was felt that the sympathy of the fans was not on the side of the Belarusian tennis player.

Azarenka started the first set uncertainly: she made double faults and for a long time could not find her serve. The Chinese woman also made mistakes, but in this match psychology came first. Li Na looked calmer and 45 minutes after the start she served for the set with the score 5:3. But in the second game, Azarenka’s game improved and she began to dominate. During the fifth game, Li Na twisted her ankle and took a seven-minute medical break. When the Chinese returned, the game became tighter. Victoria had difficulty fending off her opponent’s rapid attacks, but still retained the advantage and took the set with a score of 6:4.

Victoria Azarenka / Photo: © Matthew Ashton / Contributor / Corbis Sport / Gettyimages.ru

The winner of the final was to be determined in the third game. The rivals were almost as good as each other, but a series of pauses knocked Li Na out of rhythm. During the fourth game, the match was abandoned due to Australia Day fireworks. Azarenka took full advantage of the ten-minute break: she called a doctor and left the court.

In the first rally after the pause, the Chinese player fell on her injured left ankle, hitting her head hard. After another break, the match continued, but the Chinese tennis player’s game fell apart. The Belarusian scored points without much difficulty and gradually moved into the lead. The final game ended with a score of 6:3 in favor of Victoria.

Became a Belgian tennis player

After all the emotional turmoil that the Belarusian tennis player faced in Australia, another unpleasant surprise awaited her. At the award ceremony, Victoria was given a championship cup, where the country represented by the tennis player was incorrectly indicated: instead of BLR (Belarus), it was written BEL (Belgium). But the champion of the Australian tournament was not at all upset by such a setup from the organizers.

– This is not the worst thing that could happen. The main thing is that I won the title, and I think everyone already knows which country I’m playing for,” Victoria said.

In 2013, Victoria Azarenka won the Australian Open for the last time. Exactly ten years later, another Belarusian tennis player, Aryna Sabalenka, was able to follow in the footsteps of her stellar predecessor and bring the championship cup home.

Tomorrow the final match of the women’s tournament will take place, where the Belarusian will meet with the Chinese Zheng Qingwen. Very soon it will become known whether Arina will be able to retain the Australian Open title and regain the title of world number one, lost in the fall.