She's definitely made a name for herself. I'm surprised to see that she has no thread over here.

...and she grunts as well.

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I'm soooo happy for Viki!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:)))) Well done...oh i will like to see her winning against Serena in final, it will be tought but if she'll be on her level she can winn!!!

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I am becoming more of a fan of her, as the days go by, and I am so happy for her to be in the final in Miami.  I really hope she can beat Serena and win the trophy!!  Goooooo Vic!!!

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Love is not proud, Love does not boast, Love after all, Matters the most.
Love does not run, Love does not hide, Love does not keep, Locked inside.
Love is the river that flows through, Love never fails you.
Love will sustain, Love will provide, Love will not cease, At the end of time.
Love will protect, Love always hopes, Love still believes, When you don’t.
Love is the arms that are holding you, Love never fails you...

The Moment I Met Maria Sharapova

Maria Sharapova | Novak Djokovic | Jelena Jankovic | Grigor Dimitrov | Kim Clijsters | Rafael Nadal | Elena Dementieva |
Andy Roddick | Melanie Oudin | Fernando Verdasco | Laura Robson | Lleyton Hewitt | Maria Kirilenko.

Another girl from the East? Hope she's not a new disapointment or short-lived player like many of them coming from Eastern Europe. The girl is cute and pretty hot. Never saw her play. I don't think she will defeat Serena. If she does, it'll be a good start but she gotta be very consistent. BTW beating Serena isn't that hard. Serena is kinda unbeatable right now not because she's great but because there's no real champion on court. The place left by Justine is still empty! . Maria Sharapova gotta come back very very soon.

Victoria has lived and worked in Scottsdale, Arizona for three years--on the strength of which, Mary Jo Fernandez is already appropriating her as an "American product", although her long-time coach is Portugal's Antonio Van Grichen. But who can fathom the mind of MJF? Azarenka is East European, in the same sense as Russians. (Belarus is, in fact, old "White Russia".) And her declared friends on the Tour are the three Moscow olimpioniki with whom she now shares the top ten.

DAVAIII, VIKA OF BELARUS, 2009 S-E OPEN CHAMPION!!!

 

From CBS's Bill McAtee & chief witch Mary Carillo, but it sounds like verifiable facts that can't be denied and certainly does not support the usual propaganda:

Alla Azarenka, Victoria's mum, once talked about the difficulties of finding coaching in Belarus with the wife of Nikolai Khabibulin (Николай Хабибулин), NHL All-Stars goalie & Olympian. Nikolai is a Russian citizen (began as a Soviet junior & returned to play for Kazan during the NHL lockout) but it seems he had a kid, Sasha, who played tennis at Minsk's Natl. Tennis Center, so he related.

The Khabibulin family invited Victoria to come stay with them in Scottsdale & find coaching--in fact, fronted her the money to come. They've been an extended family for her going on four years, with Nikolai mentoring her & teaching how to compete at the highest levels.

So, she's definitely not some little appropriated emigrée product.

paul_pipkin:

Victoria has lived and worked in Scottsdale, Arizona for three years--on the strength of which, Mary Jo Fernandez is already appropriating her as an "American product", although her long-time coach is Portugal's Antonio Van Grichen. But who can fathom the mind of MJF? Azarenka is East European, in the same sense as Russians. (Belarus is, in fact, old "White Russia".) And her declared friends on the Tour are the three Moscow olimpioniki with whom she now shares the top ten.

Holy Cow!!  She thrashed Serena 6-3, 6-1!!   I so did not see this coming!  WOW!!  A big Congrats to Vika!!  Gosh still in shock!  Great result!!  Well done to her!!!

---

Love is not proud, Love does not boast, Love after all, Matters the most.
Love does not run, Love does not hide, Love does not keep, Locked inside.
Love is the river that flows through, Love never fails you.
Love will sustain, Love will provide, Love will not cease, At the end of time.
Love will protect, Love always hopes, Love still believes, When you don’t.
Love is the arms that are holding you, Love never fails you...

The Moment I Met Maria Sharapova

Maria Sharapova | Novak Djokovic | Jelena Jankovic | Grigor Dimitrov | Kim Clijsters | Rafael Nadal | Elena Dementieva |
Andy Roddick | Melanie Oudin | Fernando Verdasco | Laura Robson | Lleyton Hewitt | Maria Kirilenko.

From AP story:

Azarenka, who won her first tour title three months ago at Brisbane, improved to 23-2 this year. She grew up in Minsk and befriended NHL goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin, who invited her to the United States to train. She moved to Scottsdale and has lived there with Khabibulin and his wife since 2005.

Azarenka said her title would be big news in Belarus, where the most famous tennis player has been men's doubles specialist Max Mirnyi, who teamed with Andy Ram to win the doubles title Saturday. She was expecting a congratulatory phone call from President Alexander Lukashenko, whom she met when she was in grade school.

``He came to one of the tennis tournaments, and I was presenting flowers to him,'' she said.

Azarenka won $700,000, more than the men's first prize of $605,500. The two tours offer the same total prize money but distribute it differently.

``I can spend it in one day,'' Azarenka said. ``I'm not allowed to drink in the States yet, but I'll definitely go celebrate somewhere.''

http://www.tennischannel.com/news/NewsDetails.aspx?newsid=5184

mashadabest:

Holy Cow!!  She thrashed Serena 6-3, 6-1!!   I so did not see this coming!  WOW!!  A big Congrats to Vika!!  Gosh still in shock!  Great result!!  Well done to her!!!

I'm so happy and proud of Viki!!!!:)) Well done girl, you deserve it:D

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I wasn't watching the match, but I hear that Serena got injured....But no matter that, congrats to Victoria!!! I like her name- VICTORY!!! It sounds perfect, so powerful!!! :))))

She grunches like Maria and I think she is now the rising star.

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"I respect everyone but fear no one!"
~ Roger Federer.

Imnumber2:

She grunches like Maria and I think she is now the rising star.

hahaha yes...one time my dad turn on tv and i didn't see who's playing i just heared her grunching and i thought it's Maria. Viki really reminds me on Masha:)))

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she looks different off court...well done vika:)

Azarenka out of Cup

Victoria Azarenka, fresh off beating Serena Williams in the Sony Ericsson Open final in Florida, has been forced to withdraw from the Family Circle Cup tennis tournament due to an inflamed right shoulder.

The Family Circle Cup is scheduled to begin Saturday with qualifying matches on Daniel Island. The main draw begins Monday with a strong player field including defending champion Serena Williams, 2004 champion Venus Williams, 2008 Olympic gold medalist Elena Dementieva, and 2008 runner-up Vera Zvonareva.

"I am really sorry that I have to withdraw from the Family Circle Cup in Charleston next week due to an injury in my right shoulder," said Azarenka, a 19-year-old from Belarus who rose to No. 8 in this week's world rankings. "I was looking forward to returning to Charleston and building on the momentum that I have from the past few weeks. I am looking forward to returning to Charleston in 2010."

http://www.charleston.net/news/2009/apr/08/azarenka_out_cup77926/