New York: “I’m not necessarily disappointed, it’s just painful. It’s painful to lose” said Victoria Azarenka after her defeat to Naomi Osaka in the US Open final on Saturday.
The Japanese player came back from a set down to claim her second title in New York with a 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 win.
"I'm not necessarily disappointed. It's just painful. It's painful to lose. That is what it is. You know, It's not… It was close, I was close, but it didn't go my way. Am I going to think about it too long? Not at all. I said it, I win or I lose, I'm not going to change. I'm not going to sit here and be miserable. This was an experience that… was just an experience that didn't go my way, but I had a great two weeks, I enjoyed myself, I did everything I could today. Could I have played better? I think I could. But I left everything I could on the court today. She won the match and all the credit to Naomi (Osaka). She's a champion. As I said, I thought the third time is a charm, but I got to try again. So, that's what I'm going to do."
She also revealed that she was very close to quitting the game.
"I will say that I was ready to stop, you know. Definitely, I said that before. I haven't touched my racquet for five months. I was really not planning on coming to play until I had my personal issues resolved. So I never really made the final decision because I was going to do that after. So, it was pretty close. But what kept me in the game is my desire to go after what I want. And that's pretty much it," Victoria said.
Talking about the experience in the tournament,"Definitely been a great three weeks of tennis. I haven't had such results in quite a long time, so I'm very excited for it. Today, it's a loss but, as I said, it doesn't change for me much. Of course, I would have loved to win today, but it is what it is. I gave everything that I could today on the court. It didn't come my way. But I'm very proud of the last three weeks that I've been here. I felt that I progressed a lot. I've played a lot of great matches. I felt that I've tested myself physically, mentally on very difficult stages. It's been great. I'm very proud of myself. I want to continue to keep going the same way, enjoy myself. As I said, it was a lot of fun for me to play, to be in the final of the US Open. I'm very grateful for this opportunity."
-
The two most powerful words in any language: 'Thank you!' pic.twitter.com/j0WUtGrEsN
— victoria azarenka (@vika7) September 13, 2020 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
">The two most powerful words in any language: 'Thank you!' pic.twitter.com/j0WUtGrEsN
— victoria azarenka (@vika7) September 13, 2020The two most powerful words in any language: 'Thank you!' pic.twitter.com/j0WUtGrEsN
— victoria azarenka (@vika7) September 13, 2020
When asked about how she enjoyed her tennis during this Grand Slam event that was different from other years
-
Title or no title, @vika7 is still a winner in everyone's eyes this week.
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 13, 2020 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
Why her spirit is her greatest victory: https://t.co/FiotSxp6rq#USOpen pic.twitter.com/mFEn8qaBuN
">Title or no title, @vika7 is still a winner in everyone's eyes this week.
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 13, 2020
Why her spirit is her greatest victory: https://t.co/FiotSxp6rq#USOpen pic.twitter.com/mFEn8qaBuNTitle or no title, @vika7 is still a winner in everyone's eyes this week.
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 13, 2020
Why her spirit is her greatest victory: https://t.co/FiotSxp6rq#USOpen pic.twitter.com/mFEn8qaBuN
"I feel that I enjoyed more the way I am on the court, you know. It's not about being necessarily focused on the result, but focusing on your progress, being in the moment, you know, embracing the tough moments, tough challenges, you know. When the things don't go your way, it's more fun to kind of figure it out rather than being in, like, 'Oh, shit, I'm in trouble, what am I going to do?' That for me is more fun because I'm looking for, you know, more solutions-oriented rather than just like 'what am I doing wrong?' So, my mentality has been more… something a lot more fun for me to be around. I felt that I've enjoyed myself throughout the tournament way more instead of you know… when you're young, you got some not great people around you, they just put you in, like, this tunnel vision where 'don't look right, don't look left.' You are just looking at what you have to do in tennis, where you're kind of missing the point of living and you're becoming this focused machine as a tennis player. So I'm able to be more, like, fulfilled, I will say, outside of the tennis court, on the tennis court. I think that's a real success. I will take that any day over, you know, just the tennis results. I think that's a much bigger achievement for me on a personal level."
