New mum Azarenka steps up trophy bid
LONDON: Victoria Azarenka stepped up her bid to become the first mother to win Wimbledon in 37 years as the former world No.1 defeated Russian 15th seed Elena Vesnina yesterday.
Azarenka cruised to a 6-3, 6-3 victory in the second round of her first Grand Slam since taking a year off to have her first child in December.
In just her second tournament following son Leo’s birth, the 27-year-old Belarusian hopes to become the first mother to lift the Wimbledon women’s singles trophy since Evonne Goolagong in 1980.
Only Goolagong, Margaret Court and Kim Clijsters have won a Grand Slam singles title after having a child.
Having been made to wait around all day to play her first round match against CiCi Bellis on Monday, Azarenka had complained that the scheduling wasn’t helpful for a new mum.
All England Club officials heeded her advice and Azarenka was given the opening match on Court Three.
Vesnina reached the Wimbledon semifinals last year, but Azarenka, a two-time Australian Open champion, extended her winning streak against the Russian to eight matches with a powerful performance.
Azarenka, twice a Wimbledon semi-finalist, will play British wild-card Heather Watson, who upset 18th seed Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia 6-0, 6-4, for a place in the last 16.
Eighth seed Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia also reached the third round with a 6-4, 6-4 win over American Jennifer Brady.
Meanwhile Angelique Kerber, playing in the spot on Centre Court normally reserved for the defending women’s champion, beat Irina Falconi of the United States 6-4, 6-4 in the first round on Tuesday.
“A lot of memories came back when I walk on the Centre Court,” Kerber said. “Playing there again, it’s one of the best courts to play. It’s traditional, so it was really great to being back.”
Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, who own a combined 10 titles at the All England Club, didn’t even need three sets to advance. They both reached the second round when their opponents retired from their matches in the second set.
Kerber stepped in to the opening spot on Centre Court on Day 2 in place of holder Serena Williams, who is out for the rest of the season because she is pregnant.
Kerber became the first women seeded No.1 in the professional era to lose in the first round of the French Open.
Djokovic followed on Centre Court, leading 6-3, 2-0 when Martin Klizan stopped because of injury. The secondseeded Serb was leading 30-0 in the third game of the second.
The victory put Djokovic alone into second place on the list of Grand Slam match wins, one ahead of Jimmy Connors, with 234. Federer, an eight-time champion who followed on Centre Court and beat Alexandr Dolgopolov, leads the list with 315.
Federer was leading 6-3, 3-0 when Dolgopolov retired.
Juan Martin Del Potro needed seven match points, but he also advanced, beating Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 (67/2), 6-4.
Other winners include 2015 Wimbledon finalist Garbine Muguruza among the women, sixth seed Milos Raonic and 15thseed Gael Monfils among the men.
FORMER PLAYERS BLAST TOMIC
Bernard Tomic has faced a barrage of criticism from former players after the 24-year-old Australian said he faced “mental issues” and was bored during his lacklustre loss to Mischa Zverev in the first round at Wimbledon on Tuesday.
Following the 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 loss to Germany’s Zverev, Tomic conducted an unconventional news conference at the All England Club in which he detailed his struggles to stay motivated.
Tomic’s attitude irked a lot of his fellow countrymen, including former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash, who said Australians were not pleased with either his performance or his comments.
“He can do a lot worse than that to ruin the image that we’ve created. But a lot of ex-players are cringing, Aussies, especially... the guys who started this pro circuit. We wouldn’t be here without these guys,” Cash told the BBC.
Women’s nine-time Wimbledon winner Martina Navratilova suggested that Tomic’s comments were ungracious and suggested he “stay at home”.
“It’s disrespectful to the sport and disrespectful to the history of the sport. If you can’t get motivated at Wimbledon it’s time to find another job,” Navratilova added.