Margaret Court, 18:00... persze ottani idő szerint, szóval itt reggel. Eurosport sajnos nem hinném, hogy adná.... ha valaki tudja, vegye fel/töltse le, és jelezzen nekem ;)
Az, hogy miért nem egy franciának segít inkább, meg... nem tudom, gondolom akkor volt más is. Azt én is láttam, hogy fórumokon a rajongók nem igazán voltak oda ezért (Azarenka szorkolók írkáltak.... bár nem nagyon értem mi bajuk volt :S).
"Match of the Day: Victoria Azarenka (BLR) (1) v Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) (15) Top seed Victoria Azarenka takes on Dominika Cibulkova with a place in the quarter-final at stake. The Belarusian world no.1 should have too much for her Slovakian opponent, but Cibulkova has looked in excellent shape at Roland Garros this year. A top-class match is in prospect.
Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka has her sights on adding the French Open to her Grand Slam collection, and with good reason. The tall Minsk native has taken her game to new heights this year, winning three WTA titles, rising to number one in the world in the process and winning her first major.
A product of the Bollettieri Academy in Bradenton, Florida which brought the likes of Maria Sharapova, Andre Agassi, Jim Courier and Monica Seles to the top of the sport, Azarenka had a fiery temper when younger but is able to keep that under wraps now. Instead she channels that energy into her crunching ground strokes that wear her opponents down. One of only a handful of six-footers on the WTA circuit, ‘Vika’ uses that height to her advantage when serving, finding speed and angles that send players scurrying. Azarenka is going about winning over the Roland Garros crowd in just the right way. Working with Brittany-born Sam Sumyk who married US former player Meilen Tu (who is Vika's agent), she has a French hitting partner and medical staff and recently asked Amelie Mauresmo to join her team as a consultant. The Belarusian has even started tweeting in French!
Dominika Cibulkova is without a coach at the moment after splitting from Zelkjo Krajan. The smallest player in top 100 at 5'3", the Slovak is a former Wimbledon and US Open quarter-finalist and French Open semi-finalist, in 2009, when she reached a career high of 12th in the world.
A finalist in Barcelona back in April, Cibulkova has been ruthless in her three matches so far here this year, conceding a mere eight games in total. She comes into this match with her confidence high, knowing she has nothing to lose and much to gain. The Budapest resident loves Paris, and clay is her favourite surface. She will hope she catches Azarenka on an off-day, as Alberta Brianti did in the first round, when she came very close to upsetting the top seed.
Though Azarenka dominates their head-to-head encounters, they have shared the two matches they have played on clay, and Cibulkova also went through to the quarter-finals in Rome last month at the Belarusian’s expense. This was a result of Vika withdrawing as a result of an injury to her right shoulder – another factor which should give Dominika more than a glimmer of hope."
Szóval a csapata lassan franciává alakítja Azarenkát :)))
"This was the kind of form not witnessed since Serena Williams was at her best – a 26-match winning streak to open the 2012 season with titles at Sydney, Doha, Indian Wells and of course the Australian Open. Victoria Azarenka actually outdid the younger Williams sister's run to open 2003, back when Serena held all four Grand Slam titles at once…
Azarenka is still a long way off coming anywhere near what Serena has achieved, but her No.1 status, which she acquired along with her maiden Slam in Melbourne, means that she is very much one of the favourites at this year's French. Even her first defeat of the year, against Marion Bartoli in Miami, could not put a brake on her ambitions. "Although the Australian and US Opens are the ones that suit me best, I think that I've got the kind of tennis to win all four Grand Slams," the Belarusian confidently maintains.
Advice from Amélie
Azarenka, who has already made the quarters here in Paris on two occasions, has turned to Amélie Mauresmo for tips on how to play on clay. The former world No.1 will therefore work for a couple of weeks alongside Vika's French coach, Sam Sumyk, while Julien Jeanpierre, a former junior Australian Open champion, will continue to act as her hitting partner. Quite a French connection therefore, and one that continues to grow.
"Vika is still a long way off realising her full potential," explains Sumyk. "I think there are a lot of facets of her game that could still be honed – there's always room for improvement. Generally you make changes when things aren't going well, but it's the opposite of that for us at the moment. Nevertheless we don't want to wait until she's playing badly before we try to get our act together."
"I'm coming into what is already a well-oiled machine. It's like fine-tuning a race car," says Mauresmo, who realises that she is dealing with a consummate professional – much like she herself was back in the day. Sumyk describes Azarenka as "ambitious, hard-working, demanding and also highly-talented", adding that "Amélie was Vika's choice, so as soon as she expressed this particular wish, I set about making it happen".
For Azarenka, the time is perhaps ripe for her to follow in the footsteps of her idol, Germany's Steffi Graf who won the French Open no fewer than six times. The Belarusian is obviously still looking to win her first Roland Garros title, but with a support staff like this, no-one could possibly accuse her of skimping on preparation…"
"Azarenka relying on French connections
World No.1 Victoria Azarenka will rely on basic instincts and a firm French connection as she strives to finally solve her Roland Garros riddle and land back-to-back grand slam titles.
Azarenka's 11 wins in six visits to Paris is her worst return at the four annual majors, but the Australian Open champion believes she's developed her game to the point where she's ready to conquer clay.
"Really, I actually really like clay," Azarenka said ahead of her first-round French Open clash on Monday with Italian Alberta Brianti.
Advertisement: Story continues below "I mean, it's different game, it's different a little bit in style, but I still have the same intentions as when I play on the hard court.
"Before it was because it was too slippery. Now I feel really good on the normal clay.
"I'm still playing my game that I do on hard court with a few adjustments.
"Of course the points are a little bit longer here and you have to be kind of a little bit more patient, but I think the courts are becoming faster.
"The game is becoming faster, even on clay.
"So I just always try to stick to my natural game."
The Belarusian has enjoyed a fruitful two-year union with French coach Sam Sumyk and physio Jean Piere Bruyere and, last month, added a more famous French ally to her team in former world No.1 Amelie Mauresmo.
"I'm glad to have her on board," Azarenka said. "She has a lot of experience to share not only on court, but off court how to manage a little bit and how to pace yourself and stuff.
"Plus she can give me advice how to handle yourself during matches because she's been on the big stages, as I have been already, too.
"But it's good to see somebody else's opinion sometimes. She likes to talk and I like to listen."
Azarenka, who started the year with 26 consecutive wins and four titles, had to withdraw from her third-round match last week in Rome with a sore shoulder, no doubt the painful legacy of her early-season successes and workload.
But the top seed is feeling good to go again.
"I came here early. I have been working really hard to feel healthy. I feel much better," she said.
"I'm excited to start the tournament."
With a dominant 6-0 head-to-head record against Samantha Stosur, Azarenka looms as a major quarter-final obstacle for Australia's sixth seed in a relatively soft side of the draw.
The bottom section features joint title favourites Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, defending champion Li Na and Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova. Aside from Azarenka, other leading contenders in Stosur's half in action on Monday include Polish third seed Agnieszka Radwanska against Serb Bojana Jovanovski and French eighth seed Marion Bartoli against Czech qualifier Karolina Pliskova."
"French Open diary: Azarenka likes being behind camera
Victoria Azaranka of Belarus, after a first-round scare, will face Dinah Pitzenmaier of Germany in the second round. The top seed in the tournament will share her thoughts with USA TODAY Sports throughout the French Open.
I had a tough first round, but I didn't feel lucky. I felt proud. That's not luck that helped me to win the match. If you hope for luck, just go home and hope over there. It's not going to happen. I had a difficult opponent also. I obviously didn't play my best tennis. But it was a good test. I had around 60 unforced errors, and to win a match with that many errors is remarkable. The important thing is that I am still alive, I'm still in tournament and I have another day to improve. I've been dabbling in photography for a while and got a little more serious lately. I kind of always was interested, but I never had time. In Miami I finally decided to buy a professional camera. What I like is capturing something that you'll always remember — places, faces, people. I like to take pictures of people when they don't watch you, when you capture those real emotions you can't describe with words. Sometimes I shoot strangers, sometimes friends, or just people in the street. You catch them laughing, and you don't know why. You want to be a little bit a part of that. I'm not sure if I have a good eye. That's not for me to judge. I try to be more modest about myself, but a friend of mine who is a photographer said I'm doing a pretty good job. Or maybe he just likes me a lot. Recently I took a day and shot some men's players in Monte Carlo where I live. I shot Rafa Nadal practicing. I didn't show him the pictures but I put them on the Internet. Maybe he saw them. I took some other players, too. Sergei (Bubka) my boyfriend was also practicing. I took some pictures of him. He's always looking for pictures of himself on the Internet, so I told him I'd take some for him to have. I'm usually on the other side of the camera, and I've done a lot of photo shoots lately —Vogue (Russia) and InStyle Magazine. Its fun but I would always choose tennis over modeling because it's also really hard work. And it's stationary. I like to move, to work out. When they take three hours doing your hair, it's hard. But all the girls like to feel glamorous, pretty. The French Open isn't all tennis. I did a little sightseeing. I visited the Eiffel Tower a few days ago. I saw it up close, but I couldn't go up. There were way too many people in line. So we just took pictures to say we were here. I did want to go up. I'm afraid of heights, and finally when I convinced myself it was too crowded! I've added former No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo of France to my team recently on a part-time basis. We started working together a few weeks ago. She's a great personality to have with our team. She has a good eye and is all about details, like me. We haven't set anything long term, but it could go beyond the clay season. We just wanted to give it a try. I know she doesn't want to be full time. We communicate in English since my French isn't that good — yet. I know she's a big wine fan but so far we've been all about practicing and being professional. I know she likes to go to vineyards and has a nice collection. She's French. So she obviously has to drink wine. We don't define what she helps me with — tactically or psychologically or emotionally. We share all the time. You have something to say? Go ahead and say it. The best advice she's given me was, 'Vika, you have to be yourself. That's going to be a part of who you are on court and how you play.' That's the best advice I've ever been given. I know almost nothing about my second-round opponent, Dinah Pfizenmaier of Germany. I've never met her. Maybe I've seen her in the locker room. That's pretty much it. And that's the way it goes sometimes. You always know everything about an opponent."
Forrást nem tudok megjelölni, ahonnan másoltam, ők sem írták ki.
Hát jobb is ha a kommentárokat nem halljuk hozzá :D
Új kedvenc még csak 16 éves, de már kezdi bontogatni a szárnyait felnőtt versenyeken is, mgéc sak ITF-en azért. Most indul a junior GS-on is. Perpillanat 3. a junioroknál 16 évesen:D Egy orosz lány, Elizaveta Kulichkova :D Nagyon nagyokat tudni ütni, meg 2-3 év múlva lehet szépségversenyen megveri Sharapovát is :D
