WATCH: Azarenka Shows Superb Reflexes To Catch Triple Net Bounce At Wimbledon
WTA
Victoria Azarenka battled Elina Svitolina at Wimbledon and while she stole the show with a superb reaction at the net, the Belarusian didn't win the match.
This matchup was one that made headlines before it was even played. In a talk with BBC, Elina Svitolina confirmed that she would not be shaking hands with Azarenka. She also expressed hope that the British crowd would be more understanding of the practice as by now, it's been explained more than once.
Unfortunately, it didn't happen as Azarenka was booed by the crowd while leaving the court which was a rather look to send after the players delivered a great show for the crowd. After the match, Azarenka talked about it explaining that she respected her opponent's wishes and that was it.
Svitolina herself addressed it after the match urging the Tours to issue statements because apparently, some people don't know why the practice is in place. Svitolina didn't like being booed in Paris and doesn't think players deserve to be booed.
In any case, the match delivered on the courts with Svitolina pulling out a great win. Azarenka herself praised Svitolina for the way she played noting that she plays with a lot more freedom compared to before. Having the crowd backing her didn't hurt either.
I think she plays much more freely with, like, no pressure right now. Will it change later? You never know. I think it might. To play, like, free and obviously a lot of people supporting her, I don't know if it's advantage for her, but I would think that's part of it.
And, yeah, she was very solid today. It was really about flip of the coin I think. It was very, very close. I probably will look back and see what I can do in terms of adjustments. I know I can play better tennis, for sure, and move on.
Azarenka though stole the show with a highlight play. You can see it below.
