Believing there’s “no limit” to what she can achieve, newly crowned world No1 Victoria Azarenka is eyeing one of the rarest feats in women’s tennis after running off with the Australian Open trophy. Boasting an all-court game and newfound maturity and confidence, Azarenka hopes to join modern greats Serena Williams, Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters as the only women in more than a decade to land back-to-back Grand Slam titles. Azarenka knows the women’s game has never been more competitive, with Li Na, Petra Kvitova and Australia’s Samantha Stosur also becoming first-time major winners in the past year. But the 22-year-old Belarusian will strive to buck the trend at the French Open in June. Four of Azarenka’s 10 career titles have come on clay and last year she reached the quarter-finals in Paris for the second time, and then the semis at Wimbledon on grass, after finally unlocking the key to fulfilling her immense talent. “I played really good on clay and on grass last year. I had great results and I had great results on hardcourt,” Azarenka said yesterday, still basking in the glory of her 6-3, 6-0 Open final demolition of Maria Sharapova.
