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AUSTRALIAN OPENJanuary 24, 2012Victoria AzarenkaMELBOURNE, VICTORIA V. AZARENKA/A. Radwanska THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Congratulations. VICTORIA AZARENKA: Thank you. Q. What is your reaction to this win, first? And to what Martina say yesterday, she say that in her opinion Wozniacki is not the true No. 1, but is either you or Kvitova. VICTORIA AZARENKA: Who said that? Q. Martina Navratilova. VICTORIA AZARENKA: Oh. Well, I'm really happy with my win. You know, I think it was very important to see how I could adjust after not playing really well in the first set. I completely turned it around, so I'm really, really happy about that. About No. 1, whoever said, I think everybody has their own opinion. I don't know. Q. What's yours? VICTORIA AZARENKA: Mine? Mine, I have not really opinion about that. I'm really focused on my game. The ranking, not players did the ranking. The WTA Tour did the ranking. It is how it is. I just have to respect that. Q. Two years ago in the quarterfinals you're up a set and 4‑0 against Serena and playing great. Today you get down a set and manage to pick your level up again. Talk about maybe the different player and person you were two years ago to now. VICTORIA AZARENKA: Well, it was completely different match, as you said, different situation. I think I am a different player right now, especially mentally‑wise. I was approaching this match to try to do the best I can. I was searching for it in the first set, I just couldn't really manage to play my game. Maybe two years ago I would be like, Okay, it's not working today. I'm going to try, but we'll see how it goes. Today I really tried to forget about the first set and start from zero and really, you know, fight hard, you know, really take it one at a time and keep going. So I think that was a different mental approach a little bit. Q. That kind of thing can take a long time to learn, huh? It's a lot easier said than done to put things in the past if you're not playing that well. VICTORIA AZARENKA: I think that's toughest thing, you know, out there. Especially, you know, weather is tough. Your mind is sometimes boiling and it's difficult to think. Plus you have somebody on the opposite side that is making you a little bit crazy, and you have to keep it together. So it is really difficult. But it's a learning process. It's taking a lot of time. I think it's the hardest thing to do out there. Q. There is a lot being made in discussion points about the noise from yourself and Maria. What's your take on it? I know it's been brought up previously and again now. What's your understanding or your point of view on it? VICTORIA AZARENKA: You know, it's really funny you mentioned it's been asked before, and here again you're still asking me the same question. (Smiling.) So I guess I have to repeat what I said before. I don't think that my and Maria are the only players who actually grunt. I cannot speak for any others. I only speak for myself. It's the way I am, the way I play, the way I used to play when I was a kid. And if you want to a little bit more on insight, I think it's the way that made me breathe, made me move. It's part of my movement. Q. So you started as a child? VICTORIA AZARENKA: Yeah. As a child I was really weak, so I had to give that little extra power there. It kind of stuck with me, so that's it. Q. The WTA is looking at it and obviously assessing their options. Do you think they need to be acting on it? VICTORIA AZARENKA: I think it's kind of silly, you know. But WTA should maybe look at some other things, too. (Laughing.) Q. Is there anything else they should be looking at? VICTORIA AZARENKA: Yeah, I think it's in between players' council and WTA. We're going to discuss that during meeting. I don't like to bring out things to public. I think it's better in the closed doors. Q. Martina spoke about you quite a lot yesterday, and said she thought you had an ah‑ha moment when you were speaking to your grandmother about all the jobs that she used to do. Is that true? What can you tell us about that? VICTORIA AZARENKA: Yeah, my grandmother is incredible person. She worked all her life until she was 71, I think. We had to make her sign a paper that she's going to give up her job. We actually had to do that, because she would get up 5:00 in the morning and still go to work. It was already pissing me off so much. I'm like, Can you do something else? Can you just relax? I don't know, let's go to the spa. She was like, Oh, but I don't know what to do. I want to do something. And then she comes to my house and she starts to clean or starts doing something. I say, Just sit. Sit and relax. It's just amazing to see how much people work, and we are here playing tennis and sometimes complaining about little things. It's a little bit silly. So I don't know. It's really interesting to see different kind of life. Q. That helped you to get a sense of proportion about the things that were worrying you in your tennis? VICTORIA AZARENKA: Yeah, it was just kind of a little bit stupid for me to worry about, Oh, my God. I lost a tennis match. So what? I mean, life goes on and you keep going. It's just a tennis match. You have to look in a bigger picture. Q. What did your grandmother do as an occupation? VICTORIA AZARENKA: She used to work in a kindergarten with kids, which I think is a really, really difficult job ‑ if you don't like kids ‑ but she loves kids. Q. What motivates you more, becoming No. 12001 or winning a Grand Slam? VICTORIA AZARENKA: I think you can find a really good balance by winning a Grand Slam and becoming No. 1. (Laughter.) Q. Do you know how to relax, or during the off‑season when you're supposed to relax do you find yourself getting up and doing chores all the time? VICTORIA AZARENKA: Me? I know how to relax, trust me. I love to relax. But, you know, in the off‑season it was difficult to find time because, you know, you have to find that balance to work hard. But we also did a lot of fun things, you know, to keep the mind fresh and enjoy that period where you can really get your mind of the game. Q. What would you point out as the biggest difference between Belarusian and Russian? VICTORIA AZARENKA: Biggest difference? Q. Yes. VICTORIA AZARENKA: Well, it's completely different. There is the biggest difference. The only thing maybe similar is that we speak the same language, even though we have our own language. But the mentality of Russian and Belarusian people is very different. Q. Can you elaborate a little bit? VICTORIA AZARENKA: Well, I don't want to go too deep inside that, but I think Belarusian people have a mentally of really hard working people. You can see outside the capitals, big cities, how neat and clean the areas are. So I think that speaks a lot. Q. Where do you feel at home now? You spend a lot time in the States and you've now got the place in Monte‑Carlo, still obviously very Belarusian. Where do you feel at home? VICTORIA AZARENKA: Well, home is always going to be Belarus. In the States I don't spend so much time anymore. I am more based in Europe and in Monaco, so I would say those two places. Q. Talk about playing Caroline or Kim. Obviously played them both a lot. Big challenges both ways. VICTORIA AZARENKA: Yeah, as you said, it's big challenge. Both of them are great players and very different style of game, but very tough opponents. You know, Kim is great champion. She knows how to be in the situation, handle big matches. Caroline has also been winning a lot of tournaments and always very difficult opponent to beat. But we'll see. I just try to stay fresh out there, you know, and keep playing my game, and I'll worry about my opponent later. Q. I remember you talking about the Wimbledon semifinal, and Petra obviously had a great tournament. But I think you mentioned you thought in the third set there were maybe a couple chances where you could have done a couple things differently. Will that teach you anything about the next match if you get into a third set maybe? VICTORIA AZARENKA: You know, I don't think that that particular match can make a difference. I think that all those experiences that I had last year, you know, those tough matches, some disappointing losses, that can bring a little bit of a learning experience and take me to a different mentality and different approach of a particular moment, particular game, particular shot. So I think it's a learning experience. You just kind of try to handle it when it comes. I don't want think too much a you head. Q. Is it right that you live in the same block as Novak in Monte‑Carlo and then maybe somebody else? VICTORIA AZARENKA: Caroline. Next door. Q. Do you ever see them? Ever hit with them? VICTORIA AZARENKA: Yeah, we had many dinners with Caro; with Novak, I saw him. He was walking his dog and we met each other. He was with his girlfriend. Yeah, I mean, it's such a small place. You just cannot miss sometimes each other. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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