As John McEnroe was reminded when he blundered into his sexism row with the heavily pregnant Serena Williams, his fellow American has done something that will always be beyond him: win a slam while eight weeks pregnant.
Victoria Azarenka plays the young American CiCi Bellis in the first round at Wimbledon and is taking nothing for granted. Since the birth of her first child, Leo, in December, she has eased her way back into tennis cautiously, but with an optimistic eye.
And, if it is any encouragement to Williams to come back at 35, Azarenka, at 27, thinks her best years are ahead of her.
“The physical aspect, I think I improved the most in this break,” she said on Saturday. “I definitely feel fitter than I ever was before. You can feel great on the practice court but, to be able to transfer that into the match, I think is a real art. Sometimes it takes time. Sometimes it clicks right away. I think I’m on the right path to bringing all those components together and try to play better than I ever did before.”
That is some statement of intent from a player who, six years ago, was talked out of quitting tennis by her grandmother when she briefly considered a career in education. She appears to be as dedicated and content now as when winning her two slams, both in Australia. Azarenka destroys the myth that a comfortable private life can undermine ambition and dedication on the arduous tennis Tour.
Her original plan was to return to the game in Stanford, before the US Open, but she and her team had a rethink.
“We started conversations a few months ago,” she said. “My coach, Michael, said one morning: ‘You’ve been training really well. I think you’ll be ready to go and play early. What do you think about starting Wimbledon, maybe a little bit earlier?’
“At first, I wasn’t sure if I was ready mentally, because I planned everything – tickets and stuff, how we are going to travel, all the arrangements – [with a view to] starting in Stanford. So I thought about it for about a week, maybe even two. I felt like I was ready to compete. I was tired of practising, to just keep going through drills. I needed competition.”
In her comeback tournament, on the grass of Mallorca last month, she picked up 30 ranking points to slightly nudge her dormant ranking to 678, beating the world No78, Risa Ozaki, of Japan, in three tough sets, then losing to 28th-ranked Ana Konjuh, 6-1, 6-3.
Babies on tour became a theme when Roger Federer brought his second set of twins with him, then Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic proudly had their offspring at tournaments. Someone of an entrepreneurial spirit should start a travelling creche.
“I obviously have help,” Azarenka said. “My mum is here, my boyfriend. Our nanny is not here at the moment. But we manage that.
“I love to wake up in the middle of the night, because he wakes up hungry sometimes. But I understand that when I play it’s a bit different, and I will get to sleep through the night.
“He’s actually a very good traveller. I stress out more because I want to make sure that everything is going great – more than anyone else around me. He is totally fine. He loves the plane.”
Azarenka, who is widely popular in the locker room, has strong empathy with another woman making a comeback to the Tour, the two-times Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, who seems to have recovered well from an horrific knife attack in her home before Christmas.
“I can’t understand what she went through on the emotional level but I think she’s such a warrior to be able to just act normal, feel normal in public,” Azarenka said. “It’s such a scary thing that happened to her. The way she recovered from it, it’s really inspiring.
“Just going out and playing in the French Open, a lot of people thought she may never be able to play again. For her to come back and then win Birmingham, see her smile on the court, competing, just personally as a player, not as a competitor, I’m very happy for her.”
McEnroe, no doubt, is as well. But he may think twice before prodding the lionesses again.
