"Disrespectful" - Daniela Hantuchova criticizes Azarenka's task
Former world No. 5 Daniela Hantuchova has described Victoria Azarenka 's behavior in Miami as "disrespectful". 16-year-old Linda Fruhvirtova was leading 6-2, 3-0 when Azarenka quit the game for no apparent reason.
by Dennis Heineman
last edit: Mar 29, 2022, 08:31 pm
Azarenka neither requested a medical time-out on the pitch nor made any statement. "The most disrespectful part is how she left the pitch without really giving a reason," Hantuchova said. “I think the WTA needs to look at this. To me that is bizarre and really disrespectful to the spectators, the referee and especially to Linda. I think Vika just knows that if she continued like this, she would be off the field very soon anyway. But the way she did it, it's not nice behavior."
Azarenka: "It was a mistake"
Azarenka's sudden resignation attracted a lot of attention. "I shouldn't have gone out on the pitch today," Azarenka later said in her statement. "The last few weeks have been extremely stressful in my personal life. The last game was so challenging for me, but I wanted to play in front of the great crowd that gave me helped get me through my first game. I wanted out to try but it was a mistake."
Fruhvirtova started the match early with a 3-0 lead before Azarenka reduced the lead to 3-2. That was all, however, because as Fruhvirtova suffered three straight breaks and won six straight games in total, Azarenka made her way to her bench.