On Saturday, Victoria Azarenka became the first player from Belarus to win a Grand Slam title in singles, handily beating Russia's Maria Sharapova 6-3, 6-0. But Azarenka was not the only one on court that night with Belarusian connections. In a way, the Women's Singles Final was an all-Belarusian affair. Although Sharapova was born in the Siberian city of Nyagan and started playing tennis in Sochi, in Southern Russia, this was rather by circumstance than plan. Sharapova's parents were living in Gomel, Belarus, close to the Ukrainian border when the Chernobyl nuclear disaster occurred in Ukraine in April 1986. When her mother Yelena became pregnant with Maria soon after, the family moved away out of fear for their health. Sharapova's grandmother still resides in Gomel and much of her work on Chernobyl's relief as a UNDP Goodwill Ambassador has been focused on Belarus. Beyond that, Sharapova has been working with 2000 Wimbledon semifinalist and recently retired Belarusian Davis Cup stalwart Vladimir Voltchkov as her hitting partner.
But then, of course, Azarenka and Sharapova are among the last generation of players to have been born before the collapse of the USSR, and, on that technicality, the two have been from the same country all along.
Victory Lap
From Rod Laver Arena to a Convention Center near you... Belarus isn't done yet. New World No .1 Azarenka will join the Belarus team in a World Group II Fed Cup tie against the United States in Worcester, Mass. Azarenka is the youngest and most accomplished member on Belarus' team, who will face three Grand Slam Champions in Serena and Venus Williams and Liezel Huber, along with rising star Christina McHale. While Belarus has an historic chance to advance to World Group I (the last time this chance came, Azarenka was nine years old), the United States must win this home tie to save face. Or else the winningest Fed Cup nation will find itself two rungs down from the top division, for the first time in history.
Wishes for 2012
A major collective wish of the tennis community has already been fulfilled. The women's tour is no longer headed by a slamless No. 1. Caroline Wozniacki, who lost to Kim Clijsters in the quarterfinals in Melbourne, is now ranked No. 4 in the world, behind Azarenka, No. 2 Petra Kvitova, and No. 3 Sharapova.
As great a tournament as it was, however, the Australian Open left a lot of questions unanswered, with much to desire for the remainder of the season:
- Wozniacki revenge. No, not on kangaroos (Wozniacki made real peace with her fictional enemy of the 2011 Australian Open by feeding a baby marsupial this year). With the pressure of being the top player on the WTA Tour off her shoulders, Wozniacki may react one of two ways – go into a downward spiral like the recent 'slamless' No. 1s before her, or deliver a maiden slam. Some say Wozniacki's game will never develop from her usual defense to win a major. Perhaps Wozniacki can turn them into those who say, "Never say never."
- No Murray malaise. For the past two years, Andy Murray followed up runs to the Australian Open final with mediocre results for months after. One can hope that, the higher the stakes, the deeper the disappointment, and that Murray's loss a round early, in the semifinals, will lead to more success in the first half of the year.
- More rivalry in the Rafole rivalry. Remember when Hewitt used to dominate Federer? It now seems as distant as Nadal's domination of Djokovic in finals. The Serbian has won their last seven matches. Nadal is not shy about noting that he cannot figure out Djokovic despite trying his hardest, as he demonstrated in the final. Also demonstrated in the final was that most of the difference between the two players is mental. If Nadal is able to get over that hurdle and avoids all knee-hurting armchairs, we'll be in for an excellent year
- Pro patria. It's hard to play your best when pundits point out problems in the mental and physical aspects of your game and predict your demise before you even hit the courts. Harder still when those pundits are countrymen who supposedly want you to succeed (it's in their self-interest, a home-grown winner increases interest in tennis and makes their job more desirable.) We get it, Sam Stosur in Australia, Richard Gasquet & Co. in Paris, Andy Murray in London, and Mardy Fish in New York. But what if you close your eyes and imagine the entire crowd in Rod Laver Arena naked (warning: be advised not to imagine Rod Laver himself naked), or whatever gets that performance anxiety to calm, and you play some tennis?
All in all, this Australian Open was the season opener we could only wish it would have been. Here´s to a 2012 season full of wishes fulfilled.
