Victoria Azarenka is aiming to return to No. 1 in the WTA rankings after an injury-filled 2014. The Belarusian reached the top spot back in 2012 after winning the Australian Open for the first time. She defended her title in 2013, but was overtaken by Serena Williams that February. Williams has held the spot ever since.
"I'm trying to be at No. 1. I don't want to settle for anything else," Azarenka said. "It's going to be a long road. You know, I think the patience is the most probably frustrating thing. I know the level I play at. I just need to make sure I can do that every single match and build my match endurance, my match confidence back up there."
Azarenka admittedly didn't play well in 2014 during a year plagued with injuries. However, this year she has said that she is motivated and healthy, which is translating to positive results.
Coming into Miami, Azarenka is 8-4, with her losses all to players inside the Top 20: Karolina Pliskova, Dominika Cibulkova, Lucie Safarova, and Maria Sharapova. She is currently ranked No. 36 and faces No. 17 Jelena Jankovic in the second round of the Miami Open.