Former No. 1 Azarenka returning to form as WTA restarts

Two-time Grand Slam champion Victoria Azarenka could be finally turning the corner. She has won five matches in a row and will now play in the Western & Southern Open final against Naomi Osaka.

It's her first WTA final since Monterrey in April 2019, and her biggest WTA final since winning Miami in March 2016. Having fallen to Venus Williams two weeks ago in Lexington, Azarenka got her first win of the season this week and in Friday's semifinals defeated Johanna Konta, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.

“It's been great. I don't overanalyze anything while I'm still in the play. I think I take it day by day,” Azarenka told press. “I've always been this way. Now more than ever I try to take it one moment at a time. Obviously it's been really good to have an opportunity to play matches back-to-back. I had two matches yesterday, trying to find my rhythm. I'm enjoying myself on the courts, actually playing and competing again.”

Azarenka won the Australian Open twice, and reached another pair of Grand Slam finals at the US Open. Also, the big-hitting Belarusian has previously reached the semis at the French Open and Wimbledon. But she has only rarely found that form since returning in 2017 from having her first child, and has also been on and off the tour with custody issues and injuries.

Azarenka is now being coached by Frenchman Dorian Descloix. He is 32 years old, while Azarenka is 31 years old and says she enjoys having a team that is around her age.

“He brings a lot of energy. He hits the ball really well, which, like, pushes me to at this stage to adapt more to the game, because I feel the game became a lot more powerful with one, two strokes. We get along, pretty well,” Azarenka said.

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But something she hasn't yet got used to is the lack of fans at events currently, which will be all the more noticeable next week at the US Open.

“I hope they don't put fake people, because that's going to be super weird,” she said. “I actually haven't had a chance to get on Ashe Stadium yet. But, when you practice there before the tournament, it always feels like calm before the storm. I'm sure it's going to be different.

"But I feel like we are still competitors, so we're going to bring that edge of competition. But I miss the fans, I miss the energy, and in New York, it's always electric, always fireworks, and people really get into it. We are going to miss that.”

Azarenka says she's used this atmosphere and energy to lift her game, even if the cheering is against her.

“Those kind of magical moments always happen when there is a crowd, and it can swing each way," she said. "That's what motivates me and excites me. Sometimes it's a lot more pressure sometimes, but that energy I feel like you can feed off. Sometimes you have the whole stadium against you and you kind of feed off of that.”

But that obviously hasn't been a problem for Azarenka, who has been one of the most successful players since WTA competition started again. And known as one of the best competitors in the game, it looks like she's had no problems finding her own motivation.