By Chris Oddo | Saturday, March 8, 2014
Victoria Azarenka is clearly not healthy, and that showed last night during her upset loss to Lauren Davis.
Photo Source: Tennis TV
The upset of the tournament occurred last night in Indian Wells, as American Lauren Davis took down former champion Victoria Azarenka in straight sets, 6-0, 7-6(2), but even in defeat Azarenka was the center of attention as she struggled mightily with a lingering foot injury that she entered the tournament with.
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After a first set that featured 14 unforced errors, three winners, and a heck of a lot of limping and grimacing, it should have been clear for Azarenka that rather than trying to pull off a victory she should have been pulling the plug.
Though she appeared able to move at times, the two-time Grand Slam champion was clearly hobbled at others. This was noted during her on-court coaching session with Sam Sumyk after Azarenka fell behind 5-0. Sumyk tells Azarenka that she's thinking about the foot too much, and Azarenka replies “Because it F*c%** hurts!”
Though Azarenka entered the tournament having spent three weeks in a walking boot for the injured foot, and had only been practicing for a week, for some reason she and her team felt that she was good to go. Clearly, she wasn't, and it makes one ask the question: Why? Why go out there and risk doing further damage to an injury that has already kept Azarenka on the sidelines for a month?
“I wanted to play this tournament,” Azarenka would say afterwards, according to Courtney Nguyen of SI.com. “I wanted to see how it is, because at some point you’ve got to test it. You know, thinking now, it might have been too early. But I wouldn’t know if I didn’t try.”
Sumyk, who must be in cahoots with doctors on the possible risks of playing on the injured left foot, seemed nonplussed by Azarenka's troubles. Though he feigns (Was he feigning? You be the judge.) sympathy during their chat, and gives her the option of calling it quits, it's pretty clear that he felt confident that if she put the injury out of her mind she would be able to get through the match with a win.
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On this night it didn't work. The feisty, 20-year-old American was too good (this was Davis's first top-ten win, and all credit to her for taking care of business in authoritative fashion), and Azarenka is now left to ponder an altogether slower rehabilitation plan.
It wasn't a pretty night at all for Azarenka, and it makes one wonder about the decision-making process between her and her camp. Obviously Azarenka and her team couldn't have known that the match would have gone so terribly, and they must have had signs during her practice sessions that she was rounding into form, but based on her performance in the first five games, it was clear that Azarenka's evening was never going to be anything but an exercise in futility.
Azarenka's season is very much in doubt now (Is it in more doubt than it would have been had she not played this match? Is sure feels that way, but in reality probably not, unless she did further damage.), and though it might have been tough to make an extended stay on the sidelines, in retrospect it looks like a decision she and her team probably should have made.