Did Victoria Azarenka Cheat To Beat Sloane Stephens In Australian Open 2013?

January 25, 2013 by

Did Victoria Azarenka Cheat To Beat Sloane Stephens In Australian Open 2013Victoria Azarenka is the No. 1 player in the world. She’s incredibly solid and intimidating to play and has plenty of talent to get past opponents no matter how talented they are. But her tactics against American Sloane Stephens in the semifinals just seemed dirty.

‘Missed shots’

Azarenka won the first set against Stephens handily on Thursday, beating the budding star 6-1 and putting her just a single set away from her second straight Aussie Open final. Her game looked sharp and Sloane looked drained and it seemed the effects of beating someone like Serena Williams might weight down the 19-year-old and keep her out of her first ever Grand Slam finals. But Stephens never quit. Azarenka was frustrated, yelling when she missed shots and slamming balls when she lost games. It wasn’t the best look for Azarenka but it was understandable considering the pressure.

Azarenka, who had five match points lost because she couldn’t seem to figure out how to close this one out, left the court up 5-4 with Stephens set to serve. Azarenka came out after 10 minutes. The match ended there with Azarenka taking the second set, but it was the quotes after that didn’t add up. Officially Azarenka went with the trainers inside because of a chest and back injury, but her first quotes immediately showed that wasn’t true.


‘Falling apart mentally’

“I couldn’t breathe, you know,’’ Azarenka said on court after the win. “That game, you know, I just had chest pain, like getting a heart attack or something out there. I just needed to make sure it’s okay cause I really couldn’t breathe.’’

Basically Azarenka admitted that she left the court because she was falling apart mentally and needed a minute to recoup. This would be the equivalent of a quarterback driving down the field in the AFC Championship, tied game, and calling a 10 minute timeout because he wasn’t sure he could handle the moment.

From your point of view, was Victoria Azarenka playing dirty with Sloane Stephens during the Australian Open? Share your thoughts with us regarding this latest sports controversy!

Source: Shane Bacon, Yahoo Sports

Image: The Telegraph

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Rafael Nadal: Stunning Wimbledon Loss To World No. 100 Lukas Rosol

June 29, 2012 by

World No. 100 Lukas Rosol stunned two-time Wimbledon champion Rafael Nadal 6-7 (9), 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 in one of the biggest upsets in the 135-year history of the tournament. Nadal had made the finals in his last five Wimbledon appearances and had played in the last four Grand Slam finals overall. He was 17 days removed from winning the French Open.

The 26-year-old Czech is playing in his first Wimbledon. He was 0-5 in qualifying matches at the All England Club and had never won a single ATP match on grass courts since joining the tour in 2005. He had 19 wins in his career. Nadal had 41 this year. But behind a powerful serve and fearless returns, Rosol took Nadal deep into a first-set tiebreaker, then refused to fold after dropping it 11-9, winning the next two sets after early breaks.


Rosol broke in the first game and wasn’t challenged on his serve the rest of the set. He hit 20 winners in the fifth and won the final game at love. When he hit an ace to cap the upset, Rosol fell to his knees.

The loss was instantly compared to some of the biggest upsets in Wimbledon history. Pete Sampras’ loss to George Bastl in 2002 is considered the standard bearer, but that came at the end of the American’s great career. Nadal is in his prime. Now he’s out of a Grand Slam earlier than he has been since 2005.

How do you feel about Nadal’s stunning loss Rosol? Share your thoughts, opinions, and grumblings with us in the comment box below!

Source: Yahoo News

Image: World Tennis Magazine

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