Victoria Azarenka criticizes herself after losing her opening-round match in Beijing to Andrea Petkovic, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4. The defending champion caught a virus last week in Tokyo, but completed her match against Venus Williams.
“It was an awful match and a very bad performance from me, so there’s not much to say about it,” Azarenka told reporters in Beijing. “It happens once, twice a year to every player, and it happened to me today. If I did it all again, I probably should have taken a longer break and prepared myself better. I don’t feel like I was ready to play—to be 100 percent, the preparation wasn’t enough, I cannot deny that. It’s my mistake for not paying enough attention after the U.S. Open how I managed my time and managed my health. But you cannot put yourself down too much. In the end the important thing is how you come out of it.”
The world No. 2 suffered knee and hip injuries when she slipped and fell at Wimbledon, but managed to come back and win Cincinnati before falling to Serena Williams in three sets in the U.S. Open final. Azarenka’s next scheduled event is the WTA Championships in Istanbul, which will be played October 22-27.