By Chris Oddo | Wednesday July 5, 2017
Perhaps it was the perfect match for a woman still very much in the process of trying to find her bearings in just her second match back on the WTA Tour after giving birth to her first son, Leo.
Then again, perhaps it did not matter.
Victoria Azarenka was in command against Russia’s Elena Vesnina, and she ran her lifetime record to 8-0 over the No.15 seed with a 6-3, 6-3 win.
“I feel like I always play a good match against her for some reason,” Azarenka said after converting three of nine break points and striking 26 winners against just 13 unforced errors in her 99-minute victory.
Azarenka moves into the third round at Wimbledon and will next face Great Britain’s Heather Watson.
On a hot sunny day with very little breeze, Azarenka played steady tennis from the baseline and dictated for most of the match. She didn’t face a break point and won 52 percent of her second-serve points to keep pressure on Vesnina on both sides of the service line.
Her world-class return certainly resembles the shot that helped Azarenka power her way to two Grand Slam titles and the No.1 ranking before her pregnancy, even if she thought it remains a work in progress.
“I think I played, you know, really clean from the baseline today,” Azarenka said. “I could have played a little better on the return, but she also served really well. I felt she was going for her first serve and for her second serve with a good pace and mixing it up really well. But overall, I felt like I played really good on the important moments, which, you know, gave me opportunities to win comfortably today.”
The 27-year-old is sporting a happy glow these days, and told reporters that she’s experiencing a healthy life-balance with child Leo in tow, and a new sense of purpose.
“For me this time it's a happy thing that I came back and took a conscious decision to be away, and it's more meaning,” she said. “A little bit more outside of the tennis court for me to be able still to do what I love to do. It's a good balance for me that I play because I want to play and I love to play, and, yeah, it just feels more purpose for me.”
It isn’t clear if Azarenka is in good enough shape or feeling the ball well enough to be a true competitor for this title. What’s true is that she is already much more in sync than she was at Mallorca two weeks ago, where she lost in lopsided fashion to Ana Konjuh in her second match.
The draw is shaping up for Azarenka nicely at SW19. She’s 6-0 lifetime against Watson, and if she continues that trend a battle with No.2-seeded Simona Halep could await.
She could do worse, with other, more dangerous grass players like Petra Kvitova, Karolina Pliskova and Garbine Muguruza lurking in other sections of the draw—for now. But her ultimate progression at Wimbledon isn’t really the endgame. Azarenka is content to be experiencing tennis and motherhood in a whirlwind summer. Antsy to get back to the tour and experience the thrill of match play again, she chose to come back to tennis earlier than expected a few weeks back. She’s already settling in to her familiar, formidable patterns, but the pressure and expectations may not arrive until the hard-court season begins this summer.
It’s a sweet spot of sorts.
No pressure, good vibes and a wide open window. Don’t be surprised if she makes good on it sooner rather than later.