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AUSTRALIAN OPENJanuary 30, 2005Victoria AzarenkaMELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA THE MODERATOR: Questions. Q. It was a good match. Were you expecting such an easy victory? VICTORIA AZARENKA: It wasn't easy that the score was. It was pretty tough mentally. But I felt very confidence. I did the best I could. Q. You were seeded No. 1 in the draw, so you were the favorite of the tournament. VICTORIA AZARENKA: Yeah. Q. Is it more difficult to win a tournament when you are the favorite? VICTORIA AZARENKA: Maybe not because some player, they feel like pressure when you first seed. But I didn't feel it, so I was confident because of the last week. I won the tournament and I did pretty well. I played good. I played all my best shots. I was confidence and comfortable on the court. Q. Where do you live and where do you practice now? VICTORIA AZARENKA: Originally I'm from Belarus. I practice there. Just after US Open, I started to practice in Spain, in Marbella. Hofsas Tennis Academy. Q. You have a Spanish coach? VICTORIA AZARENKA: There is a German -- people from Germany there in this academy. Also my coach who is with me here, he is German. Q. And before going to Marbella, you were a little bit in Germany? VICTORIA AZARENKA: No, no. I wasn't. I was practicing in Belarus and was living. Now I living in Spain. Q. Like Safin, like Kuznetsova. VICTORIA AZARENKA: Yeah. Q. Conditions are much better, of course, to practice. VICTORIA AZARENKA: Yeah, for sure. Q. So you like clay courts? VICTORIA AZARENKA: I was practicing on hard court because I was practicing for Australia, and I played only on hard court. So I didn't try the clay courts yet. Q. What are your strengths, your best shots? VICTORIA AZARENKA: Really, I don't know. I'm trying to approaching all the time, to attack, to come to the net. This is I think my best game. Q. This is your best victory so far, your best success, winning this tournament? VICTORIA AZARENKA: Yeah. Q. Because you are very young. VICTORIA AZARENKA: Yeah, I was dreaming about it because before I played already two semifinals in Grand Slams. I lost both of them when I had a match points. This time when I played semifinals, I wasn't shaking, but I was thinking about not to this time. And final, I was just relaxed, trying to do all my best. Q. Where were those two semifinals? VICTORIA AZARENKA: First one was Wimbledon and second one was US Open. Q. Were they both last year? VICTORIA AZARENKA: Yeah. Q. Was the player you lost to in each of those here this year? VICTORIA AZARENKA: Wimbledon I lost against Ana Ivanovic. You probably know. She played here. US Open I lost against Michaella Krajicek. She also played here and made one round. They improved a lot. I'm trying to do this, too. Q. What is your goal for this year, playing only junior tournaments? VICTORIA AZARENKA: No. This year I think I will try to play more woman's tournaments and we'll see how it goes. Q. How many are you allowed to play on the women's? VICTORIA AZARENKA: It's a limit. I have maybe 10 tournaments. I'm not sure. I don't know yet. I play just once since my birthday, so I have like eight or nine tournaments more. Q. Which ones have you played so far? VICTORIA AZARENKA: I played in Israel, 25,000. It was in December. I did pretty well there. I made quarterfinals singles and semifinals doubles. It was okay. Q. How many junior Grand Slams have you played in? VICTORIA AZARENKA: I played three. Q. This is the third? VICTORIA AZARENKA: This is the fourth. Q. Have you talked about what it means to be No. 1 now? VICTORIA AZARENKA: I was dreaming about this so much because I wanted to be No. 1 so much because two times I had these chances and I missed them. Now when I did this, it's feeling, I can't explain it now. Q. Is it as special as winning the title or they're both amazing? VICTORIA AZARENKA: Sorry? Q. Is it as good as winning the title? Was it more than winning the title here? VICTORIA AZARENKA: Yeah, it's prestige, I think, and it's much more points. It's give a lot of confidence. Q. So it's a wonderful start for the year and the next step towards the pros. VICTORIA AZARENKA: Yeah, it's a very good step. Q. Do you think it changes the way people see you, as well? VICTORIA AZARENKA: Yeah, I think so. But I think that so many people saw me because it's like I didn't play a lot of tournaments since US Open. It was the first tournament. And I think everybody was surprised because I improved my game a lot and I more tough now. I think I'll try to do it better and better. End of FastScripts…. |
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