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Victoria Azarenka

Victoria AzarenkaViktoriya Fiodorovna Azarenka, also known as Victoria Azarenka (Belarusian: Вікторыя Азарэнка, Азаранка, Виктория Фёдоровна Азаренко; born 31 July 1989) is a Belarusian professional tennis player. Her current and career high ranking is World No. 4, which she achieved on May 9, 2011. She became the highest-ranked Belarusian player ever, surpassing Natasha Zvereva by one spot.

Azarenka has won two mixed doubles Grand Slam titles — 2007 US Open with Max Mirnyi and 2008 French Open with Bob Bryan. She has won seven singles titles, including the Premier Mandatory Sony Ericsson Open in 2009 and 2011 and has made three Grand Slam quarterfinal appearances.

Victoria Azarenka
Playing style

Azarenka is an aggressive baseliner. She is known for her well-timed and powerful groundstrokes. Her best shot is her backhand which is regarded as one of the strongest currently in the women's game. She can be effective at net, as her drive volley is one of the best in the women's game. Her main weakness' are considered to be her serve, lacking both power and stability on second serve, and her movement due to a lack of sprinting power. Her forehand can also sometimes break down and produce unforced errors, although this has improved over the years.

Personal

Her move to Scottsdale from Minsk, Belarus was aided by National Hockey League goalie Nikolai Khabibulin and his wife, who is a friend of Azarenka's mother. In 2009 she posed in the French edition of FHM

Criticism

Azarenka has been criticized by ex-professionals for the noise she makes when hitting the ball. During the 2010 Australian Open quarterfinal between Azarenka and Serena Williams, ex-pro Pam Shriver, who was providing court-side commentary, noted that Azarenka's screams were so long that she was still yelling when Williams returned the ball. She has also been noted for her tendency to lose her temper during matches