So, this is my first post in 2013. Like...first ever.
To start, I didn't go to the Hopman Cup this year like I did in 2011 and 2012. This year I'm graduating from high school, and then of course *coughs* university follows. So I decided to save the money I usually spent on tickets and so forth and so forth and so forth...and the money will be used for good cause to pay for all I need as a uni student. Quick information: I hope to take the Bachelor of Communications in Journalism major at Edith Cowan University, Perth, WA, Australia (their communication studies program is among the best Down Under--I am SO going there!). Anyway, that's pretty much why I didn't write until now. But enough about it. Now to something we all know I love very much...TENNIS!
While writing this, I am still overwhelmed by Victoria Azarenka's 2013 Australian Open victory. Yes, just a few hours ago the World No. 1 successfully defended her Australian Open title by defeating Li Na, who was in such a good form throughout the tournament (she only 'gave' four games to Maria Sharapova in the semifinal--and throughout the tournament Maria did not lose a game until her third round match against Venus Williams!), until...some kind of ankle injury occurred during the second set. She fell, just like that, and she wasn't even about to run. I guess her best game left her after that, because then she started hitting way too many errors and Vika gained advantage of that to raise her game.
Now to the point. I make it no secret that I am a huge fan of Vika. I also make it no secret that I used to really dislike her, mainly because of the old attitude of hers. Speaking of which, her attitude now is much different than it was in...let's say three years ago. She still maintains that 'I-don't-give-a-damn-of-what-people-think-of-me' attitude, but manages to control it better. Her on-court behaviour has improved greatly, she hardly ever scolds officials the way she often did three or four years ago. The fact that she does not really care about what people think of her--they can love her or hate her and she will not think of it too much for that matter--is, in some ways, a good thing. When she praises her opponents or expresses her joy you know that it's sincere. She does not make up any personality of hers just to please other people. And for that her fans never leave her. Her fanbase is going strong, and one of the reasons why they are fond of her is perhaps because she shows her real side to everyone. Walking on court with hood up while listening to music? Many people will find it strange and unappealing. She doesn't care, she likes that so she keeps doing that. Hanging out with RedFoo of all celebrities? When RedFoo made his grand appearance in Istanbul, I saw many people on twitter wrote how ridiculous he looked, how disgusting he seemed to be (...I was like, "He's a musician and musicians these days do funny things...so what? Doesn't make him less interesting as a person."), some even said that she should not associate with him. I'm sure she knows all that fuss but I'm also sure that at the same time she really doesn't care. She, like most normal people, hangs out with whoever she feels comfortable with and no matter how strange it may seem, she doesn't care. Her fans enjoy that. They get to see the unique side of a sporting star that the said star does not hesitate to show. She made a point of that today by saying, "Screw it, I am what I am."
But that attitude of hers also has it flaws. She is never known to be media-friendly (you know what I mean here...) like Maria. She rarely, if ever, shows any diva-like nature like Serena Williams. She's not all smiles, all (attempted but mostly failed) jokes like her BFF Caroline Wozniacki. She is not a natural source of amusement like Li. Ask her a question under appropriate circumstances and she will give her answer and that's just it. Of course, she is not as far as being as dry as, say, Andy Murray. And she had quite a bad past with the media. The old Victoria Azarenka once refused to do a press conference after an early loss at Roland Garros. And the media...well, naturally they had a blast after that. She built a reputation as a hot-tempered youngster who would scold at anyone when things did not go her way. In short, she never really pleases the media, and she seems to not care enough to make an effort about that. As a celebrity (I'm not one for that matter...), building an image with the media can be somewhat important, be it good or bad. Even some celebs known for their bad attitude embrace the media sometimes. Vika, on the other hand, never really tries to embrace the media. Like I wrote above, the media can love her like they love Maria and Serena or hate her and try to destroy her reputation in many ways and she still could not care less.
The unfriendliness she has with the media has something to do with the severe reaction that she got after she took a medical timeout in her semifinal match against Sloane Stephens--no doubt journalists' new it girl because of her interesting personality. Earlier in the match, she looked so uncomfortable moving around, and at one point she struggled to catch her breath. In the second set, she had five match points in a game but blew them all, and right after Sloane won the game she took a timeout to help her with her breathing problems. She had to leave the court because the treatment required her to take off her dress, and it took quite a long time. After she came back, she broke Sloane's serve to win the match and secure yet another Australian Open final. She looked understandably overwhelmed, and during an on-court interview when she was asked how she was feeling and why she left the court, instead of explaining her breathing problems she said something about herself almost doing the choke of the year and getting nervous. To keep it short, let's just say that twitterworld exploded about her. Many dubbed her as a cheater. Many others said that what she did gave a bad reputation to women's tennis. Many even went as far as saying that she had to receive some severe sanctions. Yahoo! called her timeout 'a cheap trick'. Male tennis players--who in general never pay any attention to their female counterpart--mentioned hormones and, again, cheating. She later gave explanation that she was so overwhelmed she could not understand the question coherently. I would say that it is perfectly natural. Imagine yourself being asked a question not in your first language after experiencing something so big, something that hugely impacts you. You sure you would completely understand the question? Last year, upon hearing that I had placed second in a creative writing competition held by Stanford University, I took quite awhile to form my sentence carefully in plain English, only to say, "But...it was a crap that I wrote!" Imagine how long it would take for me if I reached a Grand Slam final.
As a fan, of course I like to defend her. But reasonably. Even if I weren't a fan of hers, I wouldn't say that she took the medical timeout ONLY to calm her nerves and (perhaps) to distract Sloane. I paid expensive attention to the match, and I did notice her physical problems. She limped a bit at some point in the first set because of her...ankle, I guess. And she did struggle to breath at some point in the second set. Anyone who watched the match closely would notice that. And yes, the timing of the medical timeout was a bit unfortunate. And that she misunderstood the question asked in her on-court interview did not do any better. If it were gamesmanship, of course I would be upset. But then I still wouldn't see any need for severe reactions that she got. Such a thing happens all the time and many others players have done it, even worse. Novak Djokovic took a medical timeout just as Murray was about to serve for the championship during last year's US Open final. Serena has taken medical timeouts with unfortunate timings more than once. Even my beloved Roger Federer once did similar thing--he took a bathroom break in such an unfortunate timing during a match against Nikolay Davydenko in 2010. Fabio Fognini took a medical timeout when Albert Montanes was about to serve for the match in the fourth round of Roland Garros two years ago--the former won the match, but withdrew from his quarterfinal match against Nole. More recently, Janko Tipsarevic--not a stranger to this medical timeout-gate thingy--took a medical timeout in the third round of this year's Australian Open just as Lukas Lacko was about to serve for the match. And yeah, Tipsy won. Did they get reactions as severe as Vika did? No. In cases of Nole, Roger, Fognini, and Tipsy, no one said that what they did gave men's tennis a bad reputation. No one attacked Serena like many journalists did to Vika. The fact that Vika never had a great relationship with the media didn't help. Many people in tennis fandom went as if Vika did something really, really horrible that no one had ever done before, in my opinion also partly because Sloane was a young rising star from *coughs* the United States. Think about it. Would all the fuss still happen if she were from some other country--country other than the US or the UK? Remember that most high profile tennis journalists are either Americans or British. Okay, I actually hate to bring up nationalities here, but from my point of view, it's got something to do with this.
Even if it was a gamesmanship, the severe reactions are beyond understandable. Where were they when this thing happened with other players? Why did none of them go around saying something about bad reputation and stuffs? I appreciate people giving their thoughts out of fairness and not because they just love to hate. I appreciate people who criticise her with plausible reasons and do not just go around screaming, "SHE IS CHEATING! SHE SHOULD RECEIVE A SANCTION! BAD REPUTATION FOR THE SPORT!" Discrepancies happen, that's just the way of life. Whether one knows how to express their points reasonably or not, that's another story.
Anyway, what I want to talk about here is how Vika's 'screw-it-I-am-what-I-am' attitude worked with the controversy, combined with her improved attitude on dealing with bad things. I am almost fully certain that Vika three or four years ago would refuse to talk to the press at all about the controversy, and it would affect her game one way or another. The new Victoria Azarenka, with her nature to not care about or fuss over things like that, just let her racquet do the talk and silence the people. Okay, I have to admit she may have been 'helped' a bit by Li's unfortunate ankle injury and concussion scare afterwards. But she still deserved to win nonetheless. She earned it. At the end of the match she cried in disbelief, even much more than last year. Her entourage--which includes coach Sam Sumyk, agent Meilen Tu, and also her rumoured-but-not-yet-confirmed boyfriend RedFoo--constantly reminded her that she did win the championship, and that she did deserve it. My heart swelled at that moment. Anything can be said about that but in my case that moment was beautiful. I am proud that one of my favourite players did not let a so-called controversy affect her game and mental strength in any way, especially to think that had it occurred a few years back the outcome could have been the total opposite. Another thing about the match that reminds me of the pride of being a tennis fan is how Li kept fighting until the end of the match even after two quite nasty falls in the second and third sets respectively. For a brief period I thought she was going to retire, and I know I wasn't the only one who thought so. But she didn't. She came back, still strong, and did not show any sign of giving up. Unfortunate for her she was not able to find her A game after the falls, hence Vika's chance to raise her game up. And even in defeat she still conquered the crowd's hearts, much like she did after her defeat against Kim Clijsters in the final of the very same tournament in 2011. As for Vika, I hope she realises how much her improved attitude has done good to her, the timeout gate aside, and that she will eager to keep improving that department as well as other aspects. All I can say now is that I am delighted for her victory, and that I congratulate her on it. Despite what people might say she really earned it and deserved to win. Also, here I proudly express my opinion that Victoria Fedorovna Azarenka of Belarus is the finest World No. 1 after Justine Henin. She claimed the spot for the first time by winning a Grand Slam, and has been consistent ever since. She ensured her place in the rankings by defending her Grand Slam victory. In short, idealny *thanks, Google Translate!*. Today she said that she is what she is, and she made a point of it. She is, indeed, what she is. A champion.
*By the way, I did almost rip my t-shirt off when Li hit a ball long on Vika's championship point. One more strong stretch and that t-shirt would be a wreck. I know no one would want to know this but I just can't resist!*
Photo courtesy of the official website of the Australian Open
To start, I didn't go to the Hopman Cup this year like I did in 2011 and 2012. This year I'm graduating from high school, and then of course *coughs* university follows. So I decided to save the money I usually spent on tickets and so forth and so forth and so forth...and the money will be used for good cause to pay for all I need as a uni student. Quick information: I hope to take the Bachelor of Communications in Journalism major at Edith Cowan University, Perth, WA, Australia (their communication studies program is among the best Down Under--I am SO going there!). Anyway, that's pretty much why I didn't write until now. But enough about it. Now to something we all know I love very much...TENNIS!
While writing this, I am still overwhelmed by Victoria Azarenka's 2013 Australian Open victory. Yes, just a few hours ago the World No. 1 successfully defended her Australian Open title by defeating Li Na, who was in such a good form throughout the tournament (she only 'gave' four games to Maria Sharapova in the semifinal--and throughout the tournament Maria did not lose a game until her third round match against Venus Williams!), until...some kind of ankle injury occurred during the second set. She fell, just like that, and she wasn't even about to run. I guess her best game left her after that, because then she started hitting way too many errors and Vika gained advantage of that to raise her game.
Now to the point. I make it no secret that I am a huge fan of Vika. I also make it no secret that I used to really dislike her, mainly because of the old attitude of hers. Speaking of which, her attitude now is much different than it was in...let's say three years ago. She still maintains that 'I-don't-give-a-damn-of-what-people-think-of-me' attitude, but manages to control it better. Her on-court behaviour has improved greatly, she hardly ever scolds officials the way she often did three or four years ago. The fact that she does not really care about what people think of her--they can love her or hate her and she will not think of it too much for that matter--is, in some ways, a good thing. When she praises her opponents or expresses her joy you know that it's sincere. She does not make up any personality of hers just to please other people. And for that her fans never leave her. Her fanbase is going strong, and one of the reasons why they are fond of her is perhaps because she shows her real side to everyone. Walking on court with hood up while listening to music? Many people will find it strange and unappealing. She doesn't care, she likes that so she keeps doing that. Hanging out with RedFoo of all celebrities? When RedFoo made his grand appearance in Istanbul, I saw many people on twitter wrote how ridiculous he looked, how disgusting he seemed to be (...I was like, "He's a musician and musicians these days do funny things...so what? Doesn't make him less interesting as a person."), some even said that she should not associate with him. I'm sure she knows all that fuss but I'm also sure that at the same time she really doesn't care. She, like most normal people, hangs out with whoever she feels comfortable with and no matter how strange it may seem, she doesn't care. Her fans enjoy that. They get to see the unique side of a sporting star that the said star does not hesitate to show. She made a point of that today by saying, "Screw it, I am what I am."
But that attitude of hers also has it flaws. She is never known to be media-friendly (you know what I mean here...) like Maria. She rarely, if ever, shows any diva-like nature like Serena Williams. She's not all smiles, all (attempted but mostly failed) jokes like her BFF Caroline Wozniacki. She is not a natural source of amusement like Li. Ask her a question under appropriate circumstances and she will give her answer and that's just it. Of course, she is not as far as being as dry as, say, Andy Murray. And she had quite a bad past with the media. The old Victoria Azarenka once refused to do a press conference after an early loss at Roland Garros. And the media...well, naturally they had a blast after that. She built a reputation as a hot-tempered youngster who would scold at anyone when things did not go her way. In short, she never really pleases the media, and she seems to not care enough to make an effort about that. As a celebrity (I'm not one for that matter...), building an image with the media can be somewhat important, be it good or bad. Even some celebs known for their bad attitude embrace the media sometimes. Vika, on the other hand, never really tries to embrace the media. Like I wrote above, the media can love her like they love Maria and Serena or hate her and try to destroy her reputation in many ways and she still could not care less.
The unfriendliness she has with the media has something to do with the severe reaction that she got after she took a medical timeout in her semifinal match against Sloane Stephens--no doubt journalists' new it girl because of her interesting personality. Earlier in the match, she looked so uncomfortable moving around, and at one point she struggled to catch her breath. In the second set, she had five match points in a game but blew them all, and right after Sloane won the game she took a timeout to help her with her breathing problems. She had to leave the court because the treatment required her to take off her dress, and it took quite a long time. After she came back, she broke Sloane's serve to win the match and secure yet another Australian Open final. She looked understandably overwhelmed, and during an on-court interview when she was asked how she was feeling and why she left the court, instead of explaining her breathing problems she said something about herself almost doing the choke of the year and getting nervous. To keep it short, let's just say that twitterworld exploded about her. Many dubbed her as a cheater. Many others said that what she did gave a bad reputation to women's tennis. Many even went as far as saying that she had to receive some severe sanctions. Yahoo! called her timeout 'a cheap trick'. Male tennis players--who in general never pay any attention to their female counterpart--mentioned hormones and, again, cheating. She later gave explanation that she was so overwhelmed she could not understand the question coherently. I would say that it is perfectly natural. Imagine yourself being asked a question not in your first language after experiencing something so big, something that hugely impacts you. You sure you would completely understand the question? Last year, upon hearing that I had placed second in a creative writing competition held by Stanford University, I took quite awhile to form my sentence carefully in plain English, only to say, "But...it was a crap that I wrote!" Imagine how long it would take for me if I reached a Grand Slam final.
As a fan, of course I like to defend her. But reasonably. Even if I weren't a fan of hers, I wouldn't say that she took the medical timeout ONLY to calm her nerves and (perhaps) to distract Sloane. I paid expensive attention to the match, and I did notice her physical problems. She limped a bit at some point in the first set because of her...ankle, I guess. And she did struggle to breath at some point in the second set. Anyone who watched the match closely would notice that. And yes, the timing of the medical timeout was a bit unfortunate. And that she misunderstood the question asked in her on-court interview did not do any better. If it were gamesmanship, of course I would be upset. But then I still wouldn't see any need for severe reactions that she got. Such a thing happens all the time and many others players have done it, even worse. Novak Djokovic took a medical timeout just as Murray was about to serve for the championship during last year's US Open final. Serena has taken medical timeouts with unfortunate timings more than once. Even my beloved Roger Federer once did similar thing--he took a bathroom break in such an unfortunate timing during a match against Nikolay Davydenko in 2010. Fabio Fognini took a medical timeout when Albert Montanes was about to serve for the match in the fourth round of Roland Garros two years ago--the former won the match, but withdrew from his quarterfinal match against Nole. More recently, Janko Tipsarevic--not a stranger to this medical timeout-gate thingy--took a medical timeout in the third round of this year's Australian Open just as Lukas Lacko was about to serve for the match. And yeah, Tipsy won. Did they get reactions as severe as Vika did? No. In cases of Nole, Roger, Fognini, and Tipsy, no one said that what they did gave men's tennis a bad reputation. No one attacked Serena like many journalists did to Vika. The fact that Vika never had a great relationship with the media didn't help. Many people in tennis fandom went as if Vika did something really, really horrible that no one had ever done before, in my opinion also partly because Sloane was a young rising star from *coughs* the United States. Think about it. Would all the fuss still happen if she were from some other country--country other than the US or the UK? Remember that most high profile tennis journalists are either Americans or British. Okay, I actually hate to bring up nationalities here, but from my point of view, it's got something to do with this.
Even if it was a gamesmanship, the severe reactions are beyond understandable. Where were they when this thing happened with other players? Why did none of them go around saying something about bad reputation and stuffs? I appreciate people giving their thoughts out of fairness and not because they just love to hate. I appreciate people who criticise her with plausible reasons and do not just go around screaming, "SHE IS CHEATING! SHE SHOULD RECEIVE A SANCTION! BAD REPUTATION FOR THE SPORT!" Discrepancies happen, that's just the way of life. Whether one knows how to express their points reasonably or not, that's another story.
Anyway, what I want to talk about here is how Vika's 'screw-it-I-am-what-I-am' attitude worked with the controversy, combined with her improved attitude on dealing with bad things. I am almost fully certain that Vika three or four years ago would refuse to talk to the press at all about the controversy, and it would affect her game one way or another. The new Victoria Azarenka, with her nature to not care about or fuss over things like that, just let her racquet do the talk and silence the people. Okay, I have to admit she may have been 'helped' a bit by Li's unfortunate ankle injury and concussion scare afterwards. But she still deserved to win nonetheless. She earned it. At the end of the match she cried in disbelief, even much more than last year. Her entourage--which includes coach Sam Sumyk, agent Meilen Tu, and also her rumoured-but-not-yet-confirmed boyfriend RedFoo--constantly reminded her that she did win the championship, and that she did deserve it. My heart swelled at that moment. Anything can be said about that but in my case that moment was beautiful. I am proud that one of my favourite players did not let a so-called controversy affect her game and mental strength in any way, especially to think that had it occurred a few years back the outcome could have been the total opposite. Another thing about the match that reminds me of the pride of being a tennis fan is how Li kept fighting until the end of the match even after two quite nasty falls in the second and third sets respectively. For a brief period I thought she was going to retire, and I know I wasn't the only one who thought so. But she didn't. She came back, still strong, and did not show any sign of giving up. Unfortunate for her she was not able to find her A game after the falls, hence Vika's chance to raise her game up. And even in defeat she still conquered the crowd's hearts, much like she did after her defeat against Kim Clijsters in the final of the very same tournament in 2011. As for Vika, I hope she realises how much her improved attitude has done good to her, the timeout gate aside, and that she will eager to keep improving that department as well as other aspects. All I can say now is that I am delighted for her victory, and that I congratulate her on it. Despite what people might say she really earned it and deserved to win. Also, here I proudly express my opinion that Victoria Fedorovna Azarenka of Belarus is the finest World No. 1 after Justine Henin. She claimed the spot for the first time by winning a Grand Slam, and has been consistent ever since. She ensured her place in the rankings by defending her Grand Slam victory. In short, idealny *thanks, Google Translate!*. Today she said that she is what she is, and she made a point of it. She is, indeed, what she is. A champion.
*
Photo courtesy of the official website of the Australian Open
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