Australian Open champion and new No. 1 Victoria Azarenka credits her coach of two years, Sam Sumyk, with helping to push her to the top. Sumyk switched over to Azarenka in late 2009 after coaching Vera Zvonareva.
"Sam, I feel like he was not pushing me guiding me towards that mental approach, to that winning attitude," she said. "He helped me to find my way, not pushing his way. So I think I owe him a lot for that, for educating me. I think it's important, especially for the young players, to have that education. That you have to learn how to do it yourself, because in the end of the day you're the one who's holding the racquet. Nobody else is going to do that for you." - MC