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Azarenka Wins in Australia to Keep Women’s Title Azarenka Keeps Australian Title With Comeback Victory Over Li
(about 4 hours later)
MELBOURNE, Australia — In a momentum-swinging final interrupted by fireworks and, yes, more medical timeouts, Victoria Azarenka defended her Australian Open singles title by rallying to defeat Li Na 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. MELBOURNE, Australia — Victoria Azarenka was expecting to be the finalist with the bigger obstacles to surmount Saturday.
The victory, which allowed Azarenka to retain the No. 1 ranking ahead of Serena Williams, was a tribute to Azarenka’s powers of resilience and concentration. She has been far from her relentless best at this Australian Open for reasons that still remain unclear, and she expected to be greeted with hostility after an emotional 48 hours in which she was widely criticized for seeking medical attention at a critical phase of her semifinal victory over the American teenager Sloane Stephens.
Far from her relentless best, she managed to overcome a crowd that audibly favored Li and an emotional week in which she was widely criticized for taking a medical timeout at a critical phase of her semifinal match over Sloane Stephens of the United States. But as it turned out, Li Na was the finalist who was in for a traumatic evening in Rod Laver Arena, and in a momentum-swinging final interrupted by fireworks and, yes, more medical timeouts, Azarenka successfully defended her title by rallying to win, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
When Li, of China, missed her final shot, Azarenka dropped her racket, eyes wide, and then went to the net to shake hands with her opponent. She was soon on her chair sobbing into a towel. She then rose and went to the opposite side of the court to reach up and shake hands with members of her team, including her coach Sam Sumyk and her friend, the musician Redfoo. Li, the 30-year-old Chinese star who was also a finalist here in 2011, twisted her ankle not once but twice, and she even said she had blacked out for a moment when the back of her head slammed into the court surface early in the third set, after her second tumble of the night.
“Maybe if I’m not falling down, it’s another story,” Li said. “You never know. But the truth: I was falling down, so nothing can change.”
The victory, which allowed Azarenka to retain the No. 1 ranking ahead of Serena Williams, was a tribute to her powers of resilience and concentration, considering all the disruptions and negative energy coming her way on and off court during the second week of the tournament.
When Li missed her final shot, Azarenka dropped her racket, eyes wide, and then went to the net to shake hands.
She was soon on her chair sobbing into a towel.
“It’s been a long match; it’s been a tough match,” Azarenka, the No. 1 seed, said later. “Li Na was absolutely playing great tennis. Unfortunate things that happened to her, you know, but that’s sport.
“But I’m just happy that everything I went through, I still could manage to give my best and really come out there and try to focus on my game and play tennis, that I can produce. And that’s the thing I love to do, is to compete.”
The victory was the latest major coup on a hard court for Azarenka, a 23-year-old from Belarus. Her baseline-hugging power game is a fine fit for the true-bouncing, hardcourt version of the sport.
This victory, which required 2 hours 40 minutes, allowed Azarenka to join an elite club. She is now the fifth active women’s player with more than one Grand Slam singles title.
The others are Serena Williams with 15, Venus Williams with 7, Maria Sharapova with 4 and Svetlana Kuznetsova with 2.
Serena Williams came into this tournament as a prohibitive favorite but was stunned in the quarterfinals after experiencing back problems and eventually losing to the 19-year-old Stephens.
Azarenka had scares of her own, dropping a set to Jamie Hampton in the third round, then losing her composure in the final stages of her match against Stephens.
Treated on a changeover after complaining of breathing problems with Stephens about to serve to stay in the match at 4-5 in the second set, Azarenka was eventually taken from the court for a medical timeout.
In all, the break lasted nearly 10 minutes, and Stephens’s coach, David Nainkin, later suggested that Azarenka had “bent” the rules to shift the momentum.
Other analysts and coaches were also skeptical, including Patrick McEnroe, the ESPN analyst who also is the head of the United States Tennis Association’s player development program.
But Azarenka, while accepting blame for the timing of the medical timeout, insisted that she was suffering not just from anxiety but from a legitimate injury: a rib problem that she was told was affecting her breathing.
And she spent much of her off day Friday making the rounds to various news media outlets in an effort to re-emphasize that she had not fabricated an injury or intentionally disrupted Stephens’s rhythm.
“What happened with Sloane, it was a big deal for sure,” she said. “It came out as a big deal. It wasn’t a big deal on the court. But I take it as a great learning experience and just try to live the moment and take the best things out of what happened and move forward.
“But emotionally there were a lot of things, like the match I had in the third round — it was really tough to battle through. So two weeks, it is very difficult to keep your cool, because it seems in one way so short, but in another way it seems so long.”
In the wake of the debate, the crowd in Rod Laver Arena greeted Li with considerably more warmth than was accorded Azarenka on this cool evening when Azarenka’s now-traditional garb for walking on court — head covered by sweatshirt hood — seemed entirely climate-appropriate.
In her first service game, a fan shouted, “Azarenka, quiet please!” as she prepared at the baseline: a reference to her extended wail when she hits her shots.
And the support for Li became more evident as the match progressed, with Mandarin-speaking fans shouted approval to her while most of Azarenka’s winners were greeted with polite, even subdued applause.
“I was expecting way worse, to be honest,” Azarenka said.
Azarenka, one of the game’s most intense competitors, managed to recover from the loss of the first set and keep her focus despite three extended breaks in play: two when Li required medical timeouts of her own, and one for the customary Australia Day fireworks display.
It was a tense match, often better drama than tennis. There were 16 service breaks in all, and both players finished with significantly more unforced errors than winners. But on an unsteady night, Azarenka was the steadier force, making 18 winners and 28 unforced errors to Li’s 36 winners and 57 unforced errors.
The match changed for good with Azarenka leading, 3-1, and Li serving at 15-30 in the second set. After a swing volley from Azarenka, Li tried to shift direction quickly. Her left ankle gave way and she went down quickly, her racket clattering on the court as she winced and rolled onto her back.
When she rose, she struggled to put weight on her left foot and was soon helped to her chair for treatment. Li’s left ankle was wrapped during a three-minute medical timeout as Azarenka kept warm by practicing her serve on court.
When Li returned, she won five straight points to hold serve and then go up, 0-40, on Azarenka’s serve, but in what was a critical game, Azarenka managed to recover and win five consecutive points to hold service to take a 4-2 lead.
She closed out the set, but with Li up by 2-1 in the third set, there was a nine-minute break in play for the fireworks.
On the first point after play resumed, Li’s left ankle buckled again as she ran for a background. She fell hard onto her back and her head slammed into the court, knocking her visor free.
Li said she blacked out for a moment. Then, dazed, she eventually rose to a seated position on the baseline, where the health care provider, Victoria Simpson, raised a single index finger in front of Li’s eyes to check her reactions.
“I was thinking, ‘This is tennis court, not like hospital,’ ” Li said. “She was like, ‘Follow my finger.’ ”
Li eventually returned to her chair under her own power, where Simpson continued to gently manipulate her neck and check her symptoms.
In total another seven minutes passed before play resumed, and Azarenka reeled off the next three games to reseize command of the match, this time for good.
When Li’s final backhand had sailed long and she had finished crying into her towel, she rose and jogged to the opposite side of the court to shake hands with members of her team, including her coach, Sam Sumyk, and a friend, the musician Redfoo.
“Enjoy this one, you are a champion,” Sumyk said.“Enjoy this one, you are a champion,” Sumyk said.
The victory was the latest major coup on a hard court for Azarenka, the globe-trotting 23-year-old from Belarus. Her power baseline game is a fine fit for the true-bouncing hard-court game. “Amazing,” said Redfoo, using a more colorful word as a prefix.
The match, often better drama than tennis, included 16 service breaks, and both players finished with significantly more unforced errors than winners. But on an unsteady night, Azarenka was the steadier force, making 18 winners and 28 unforced errors, while Li had 36 winners and 57 unforced errors.
The match changed tone and rhythm for good with Azarenka leading 3-1 and Li serving in the second set. After a swing volley from Azarenka, Li tried to shift direction quickly. But her left ankle gave way and she went down, her racket clattering on the court as she winced and rolled onto her back.
When she rose, she hesitated to put weight on her left foot and limped to her chair for treatment where her ankle was wrapped during a three-minute medical timeout.
Li returned and won five straight points to hold serve and go up 0-40 with Azarenka serving. But, in what proved to be the critical game, Azarenka was able to recover and win five straight points and to take a 4-2 lead. She later closed out the set.
Then in the third set, with Li up 2-1, play was interrupted for about 10 minutes for a nearby fireworks display. On the first point after play resumed, Li’s left ankle buckled again as she ran to her left. She fell onto her back and her head slammed against the hard court surface.
Initially dazed, she lay on the baseline where she was attended by tournament medical personnel; she eventually returned to her chair under her own power where they continued to examine her for injuries. In total another seven minutes passed before play resumed. Azarenka reeled off the next three games to retake command of the match, this time for good.
The victory, which required 2 hours and 40 minutes, allowed Azarenka to join an elite club. She is now the fifth active women’s player with more than one Grand Slam singles title. The others: Serena Williams with 15, Venus Williams with 7, Maria Sharapova with 4 and Svetlana Kuznetsova with 2.
Serena Williams had come into the tournament as the prohibitive favorite but was stunned in the quarterfinals after experiencing back problems and eventually losing to the 19-year-old Stephens.
 Azarenka had scares of her own, dropping a set to Jamie Hampton in the third round and then losing her composure in the final stages of her match against Stephens. Treated on a changeover after complaining of breathing problems with Stephens about to serve to stay in the match at 4-5 in the second set, Azarenka eventually left the court for medical care.
The total break lasted nearly 10 minutes, and Stephens’s coach David Nainkin later suggested that Azarenka had “bent” the rules to shift the momentum of the match.
Other analysts and coaches were also skeptical, but Azarenka, while acknowledging the coincidental timing of the injury timeout, insisted that she was suffering from a legitimate injury: a rib problem that required treatment.
In the wake of the debate, the crowd in Rod Laver Arena for the final greeted Li with considerably more warmth than Azarenka on this cool evening. Azarenka’s now-traditional garb for walking on court — head covered by sweatshirt hood — seemed appropriate given the cool temperature.
The crowd support became more evident as the match progressed, but Azarenka, one of the game’s most intense competitors, managed to recover from the loss of the first set and keep her eye on the prize despite three extended breaks in play: two when Li required medical timeouts and one for the customary Australia Day fireworks display.